Baghdad, Dec 5 (EFE).– Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi demanded Saturday that Turkey withdraw its troops from Iraqi territory, the day after a first contingent of Turkish soldiers advanced toward the city of Mosul in the northern part of the country.

Al-Abadi described as “a serious violation of Iraqi sovereignty” the entry of Turkish forces into Nineveh province, whose capital city of Mosul has been occupied by the Islamic State, or IS, terrorist group since June 2014.

The first contingent of Turkish troops, some 130 soldiers strong, reached the outskirts of Mosul on Friday to take part in an operation to free the city.

The head of the Iraqi government confirmed the presence in Iraq, specifically in Nineveh, of a Turkish regiment with tanks and artillery whose mission was “allegedly to train Iraqi groups.”

In the note, al-Abadi said that Turkey’s decision was taken “without a request or authorization from Iraqi federal authorities.”

The prime minister said he therefore asked the Turkish government to be a good neighbor and refrain from interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs.

The spokesman for the Al-Zalkan camp of Iraq’s National Multitude militia, Mahmud al-Suri, notified EFE on Friday about the approach of the heavily armed Turkish contingent.

The Al-Zalkan camp, located some 25 kilometers (16 miles) north of Mosul, has more than 80,000 combatants in training to fight the jihadists in Nineveh.

According to the CNNTurk network, Turkey sent a unit of some 130 soldiers with 25 tanks to northern Iraq to train local forces grouped near Mosul.

Mosul is the principal domain of the IS in northern Iraq, and the Iraqi army has been unable to regain control of it despite often promising the city’s inhabitants that it would “liberate them” from the jihadists.

The presence of foreign troops in Iraq has been a recurring subject this week after the Pentagon announced sending 100 military to the Middle Eastern country, while Sen. John McCain suggested deploying 10,000 troops.

Two days ago, al-Abadi had already insisted that his country does not not need any foreign ground forces and said such an action would be considered “aggression” against national sovereignty should it be carried out. EFE