A reuters file photo used for representation
Baghdad: Iraq's foreign ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad to protest what it said were "provocative" comments made in Ankara about keeping Turkish troops in northern Iraq, a ministry spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Turkish parliament decided last week to extend a mandate that allows military operations against militant organizations in Iraq and Syria for another year.
Turkey says it deployed troops at a base in northern Iraq late last year as part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight against Islamic State, which controls a swathe of territory south of the border region, around the city of Mosul, and also in neighboring Syria.
The Iraqi government says it never invited such a force and considers the Turkish troops occupiers.
