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Türkiye and Iraq said they will move ahead with a phased transfer of the Bashiqa-Zilkan compound to the Iraqi federal government. They also agreed to activate a joint security committee to monitor efforts to end the presence of the outlawed PKK terrorist group in Sinjar, according to a joint press statement published by Türkiye’s Communications Directorate.
The statement says the steps follow an understanding the two countries’ leaders reached on Sept. 23, 2026. The text does not set a timetable for the handover, and it does not describe the committee’s membership or how it will operate.
Under the statement, the Turkish side said it will begin taking the steps it is responsible for to hand the Bashiqa-Zilkan compound over to the Iraqi federal government in stages. It described the move as consistent with the leaders’ understanding.
Türkiye has maintained a military presence at a site near Bashiqa, in northern Iraq near Mosul, since 2015.
Baghdad has long objected to the deployment, calling it a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. The statement does not say which facilities are covered or what sequence the transfer will follow.
The two governments also reaffirmed what the statement calls their shared resolve to see Iraqi authorities fully establish state authority in Sinjar and end the presence of PKK elements there.
Turkish and Iraqi officials welcomed what they called the “commendable steps” Iraqi authorities have taken in that direction so far, and said those steps should continue.
The statement says the parties decided to activate the Joint Security Coordination Committee, a body they had agreed on earlier. Its purpose, the statement says, is to jointly confirm and oversee progress in the process that began in Sinjar and aims to end the PKK’s presence there entirely.
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