ISTANBUL, October 1 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Turkey will hand over the Bashiqa military base in northern Iraq to the Iraqi military after more than a decade of using it to fight Islamist militants, Turkish Defense Ministry spokesman Zeki Akturk said on Thursday.

A decision has been made on the phased transfer of the Bashiqa-Zilkan military base to the Iraqi authorities in accordance with an agreed mechanism and schedule, taking into account the progress of operations to ensure security by the federal government of Iraq in the Sinjar region, Akturk told journalists.

Turkish military personnel have been stationed at the Bashiqa-Zilkan base since 2015 as part of the operation to dismantle the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia).

The US-led international coalition completed the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq on Wednesday, 12 years after the start of the operation against the IS.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar