Mosul offensive

The United States and its allies conducted 26 strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria on Jan. 2, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement on Jan. 3.

In Syria, one strike struck near Manbij, hitting an ISIL tactical unit and destroying four ISIL buildings and a vehicle, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Jan. 3. 

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu called his Iraqi counterpart, Haidar al-Abadi, on Dec. 30 and congratulated him on the recapture of Ramadi from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants on Dec. 28.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has reiterated his government's resolve to maintain a military presence in northern Iraq until Mosul is "liberated."

In a move likely to add insult to injury for Baghdad, the Turkish government has put the blame on the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government for the fall of Mosul, while also vowing to continue military assistance for Iraq until Mosul is liberated.

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet on Dec. 18 to discuss a complaint by Iraq over Turkish troops deployed to a camp near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. 

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) carried out an attack against a Sunni military camp in the Bashiqa region of northern Iraq, wounding four Turkish soldiers. 

Two Peshmerga soldiers were also reportedly killed. 

Italy is to send 450 troops to defend Iraq's strategic Mosul dam, near the city occupied by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group militants, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced.

Sources from the Turkish Prime Ministry said that a decision was reached to reorganize the Turkish troops on Iraqi soil, which have caused tensions between Turkey and Iraq to increase since last week, by taking Baghdad's concerns into consideration. 

Turkish Defense Minister ?smet Y?lmaz will shortly pay a visit to Baghdad upon a consensus reached with Iraqi Foreign Minister ?brahim al-Jaafari, Turkey's top diplomat has said.

As Turkey has found itself entangled in a series of disputes with more than one of its neighbors, a senior Turkish official has argued the country was encountering multiple "wars of propaganda," with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the center.