BAGHDAD (Dispatches) -- Iraq announced that Turkish forces will begin a phased handover of the Zilkan camp in the Bashiqa area of Nineveh Province this month, with a full transfer to Iraqi security forces expected by the end of the year, according to the spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces.
Sabah al-Nu’man said in statements to Iraqiya television that the joint Iraqi-Turkish security committee has already begun work to receive the camp and strengthen security measures in Sinjar. 
He stated that the phased handover of the Zilkan camp will commence this month, culminating in the termination of the Turkish military presence at the camp by the end of the current year, with the facility coming under the control of Iraqi security forces by year’s end or early 2027.
Al-Nu’man explained that the activation of the joint committee follows understandings reached between Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting in New York on September 23. 
The understandings encompass four core principles: deepening security and strategic cooperation, reinforcing Iraqi state authority in Sinjar, the gradual withdrawal of Turkish forces from the Zilkan camp, and enhancing economic cooperation.
The spokesperson noted that security progress in Sinjar—specifically the Iraqi army’s assumption of security responsibilities, the removal of armed elements, the consolidation of weapons under state control, and the integration of YBS elements into Iraqi security forces—encouraged the Turkish side to fulfill its commitments regarding the camp’s handover. 
He described the Turkish military presence as a longstanding and complicated issue that successive governments had left unresolved, adding that the current government is determined to resolve outstanding files rather than defer them to the next administration.
The Bashiqa-Zilkan base was established in 2015, with Turkey deploying approximately 900 troops and heavy weaponry at the time. Baghdad has long viewed the Turkish military presence as an infringement on Iraqi sovereignty. 
A joint Turkish-Iraqi statement issued Sunday confirmed that Ankara would begin taking steps to gradually transfer the base to the Iraqi federal government, and that the two countries agreed to activate a joint security coordination committee to verify and monitor progress toward ending the PKK’s presence in Sinjar.