BAGHDAD,— Iraq’s foreign ministry summoned the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad to protest what it said were “provocative” comments made in Ankara about keeping Turkish troops in northern Iraq, a ministry spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Turkish parliament decided last week to extend a mandate that allows military operations against militant organizations in Iraq and Syria for another year.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned Turkey that keeping troops in northern Iraq could lead to a “regional war,” according to comments broadcast on state TV on Wednesday.

Turkey says it deployed troops at a base in northern Iraq late last year as part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight against Islamic State, which controls a swathe of territory south of the border region, around the city of Mosul, and also in neighboring Syria.

The Iraqi government says it never invited such a force and considers the Turkish troops occupiers.

There are 800 Turkish troops deployed in the Mosul and Shaqlawa regions, the move that sparked a crisis between Ankara and Baghdad. Turkey sent a contingent of an additional 150 forces and 25 tanks in December 2015 to bolster its military presence in the Bashiqa camp, an area that has seen recent fighting.

Iraqi leaders said in December 2015 that hundreds of Turkish troops had arrived without their knowledge or approval, calling it a violation of its sovereignty.

The Turkish troops are still present in Nineveh province, based at Camp Bashiq, 70 kilometres west of Iraqi Kurdistan capital of Erbil.