Turkey Confirms Retention of Forces in Iraq and Syria to Ensure Border Security

Turkish confirmations regarding the retention of its forces in Iraq and Syria, despite earlier movements suggesting a withdrawal, have brought the map of Turkish army deployment in both countries back into focus.

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told AFP on Tuesday that "Turkey will keep its forces in Syria and Iraq until the security of the borders with its neighbors is fully guaranteed."

Guler clarified, "We maintain our military presence in Iraq and Syria," adding, "When we are sure that the necessary conditions regarding regional and border security are met, the status of our deployment sites and presence in the region will be reviewed."

He did not specify the number of soldiers he was referring to.

However, an Iraqi security source reported that their number is estimated between 800 and 1,000 personnel in Iraq.

In Syria, their number ranged between 16,000 and 18,000 at the time of the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in late 2024, according to Turkish sources at that time.

No more recent reliable estimates are available.

Guler said, "The assessment of our military presence in Iraq and Syria will not be accurate based solely on the count of our forces."

He added that "the structure of our forces and our field positioning are determined... according to the evolution of the terrorist threat, the security of our borders, developments on the ground, as well as cooperation with the concerned countries."

Last September, Turkey announced it would gradually hand over the Bashika-Zelkan camp, where its forces have been stationed since 2015, to the Iraqi government, without setting a deadline for completing the process.

Turkey reached an agreement with Baghdad to transfer control of the strategic Bashika-Zelkan military base in northern Iraq to the Iraqi government gradually.

Turkish Presence in Iraq
The Bashika-Zelkan base is one of several Turkish military facilities that have long constituted a point of contention between Turkey and Iraq, according to Euronews.

Turkey established a military presence in the area in 2015 to support operations against ISIS and assist local security forces.

Turkey retains other military bases in northern Iraq, from which it has launched operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The Bashika-Zelkan camp is the furthest from the Turkish border.

According to official data dating back to 2020, Turkey possesses three military points near Erbil, Bashiqa, and Dohuk.

Iraq had previously called on Turkey to withdraw its forces from the region. However, Ankara insisted that its military presence is necessary to conduct operations against the PKK and protect Turkish national security.

The Bashika-Zelkan agreement comes within the framework of recent ongoing Turkish efforts to end its long-standing conflict with the PKK.

As part of this new peace process, the PKK announced last year that it would dissolve itself and cease armed actions against Turkey.

Turkish Presence in Syria
A study by the Carnegie Foundation indicates that Turkey created several zones of influence in northern Syria through its previous military interventions, remaining politically, security-wise, and economically linked to them during the transitional phase after Assad's fall.

The most prominent areas of Turkish presence and influence include Idlib and its countryside, Afrin, Azaz, Al-Bab, Jarablus, and northern Aleppo countryside.

The most significant and perhaps most prominent shift in the Turkish presence during the rise of the transitional authority in Syria led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa was the search by Ankara and Damascus for joint defense arrangements allowing Turkish forces to use or develop Syrian airbases.

In this context, the targeting of Abu al-Duhur Military Airport in Idlib countryside represents the latest development in this trajectory, as Israel recently carried out an attack on the airport citing Turkey's preparation to establish a military presence there.

The reasons for Turkey's deployment in Syria do not differ from those in Iraq, as they justify it by confronting Kurdish forces, securing the country against infiltration by ISIS cells from the Syrian side, and finally supporting the authorities in Damascus.