Assault prediction draws ire of Iraq

the army and establishing a self-declared caliphate straddling the border between Iraq and Syria.

The United States and its allies have staged months of air strikes against Islamic State targets and Washington is training and equipping the Iraqi military to recapture territory. The battle for Mosul — the largest city in northern Iraq — is expected to be pivotal in that struggle.

An unnamed U.S. Central Command official said Thursday that an Iraqi and Kurdish military force of 20,000 to 25,000 troops is being prepared to recapture the city, probably in April or May. But Obeidi declined to confirm that timetable, and expressed irritation at the remarks.

“This is urban warfare and we have civilian populations. It is very important to take time and accuracy in setting the plan for this battle,” he told a news conference in Baghdad.

“A military official should not reveal the timing of an offensive,” he added. “The battle for Mosul starts when preparations are complete, and selecting the time is up to Iraqi military commanders.”

Iraqi officials say the Mosul attack will take place within months, but they have often said Baghdad needs greater international military support and have declined to set a date.

“I don’t know where the American official got this information,” Obeidi said. “They absolutely do not have knowledge on this issue.”

Following criticism of the U.S. military briefing, the new U.S. defense secretary, Ash Carter, told reporters Saturday he would not telegraph the precise timing of an offensive to retake Mosul.

— After months of siege by Islamic State extremists, Turkey sent an armored column into Syria early Sunday to evacuate troops who had been guarding the tomb of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire.

The government announced that nearly 600 soldiers were deployed to the site on the Euphrates river late Saturday, traveling in more than 100 tanks and armored personnel carriers and aided by airborne early warning and control aircraft, military helicopters and drones.

The troops removed Suleyman Shah’s sarcophagus, then destroyed the mausoleum. Turkey said it would build a new mausoleum for Suleyman Shah’s remains in the Ashma region, close to the Turkish border.

The operation ended what in effect was a long-running hostage crisis that began when Islamic State forces captured the area surrounding the enclave about a year ago. About 48 Turkish soldiers were stationed in six-month shifts at the mausoleum, but for the past eight months, it had been impossible to relieve them safely, the government said.

“The ongoing conflict and state of chaos in Syria posed serious risks to the safety and the security of the tomb, and to the Turkish Armed Forces personnel valiantly guarding it,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Islamic State group’s control also had geopolitical implications.

The presence of the Turkish troops at the tomb was “an insurance policy” for the Islamic State, and the extremists could use the tomb “to stage provocations,” an official said on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Left unsaid was that removing the troops may allow Turkey to take a more active role in the U.S.-led battle against the Islamic State, if the Turkish government so decides. Last week, Turkey and the United States signed a memo of understanding for the joint training of Syrian forces to counter the Islamic State.

Under the terms of a treaty signed in 1921 that broke up the Ottoman empire, Turkey was given sovereignty over the tomb in what became Syrian territory. Prime Minister Ahmet Davituoglu said the tomb would be returned to its former location once conditions allow.

One Turkish soldier died in an accident during the evacuation. There was no report of fighting.

A Turkish television reporter said Turkish armored vehicles had to take detours off the road, apparently because it had been mined. Turkish officials said Islamic State militants gathered near the tomb as the operation began and “shouted slogans” but otherwise did not contest it.

Turkey informed the Syrian government in advance of the operation but proceeded without permission. Syria denounced the incursion as an act of “flagrant aggression.”

Turkey also informed the Islamic State in advance, though it was not clear how.

Turkish forces traveled into Syria via Kobani, the Kurdish town in northern Syria that had been under siege by Islamic State until it was recently freed by local Kurdish forces with help from U.S.-led airstrikes.