Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday that the fighters who were trained at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul were at the forefront of the Mosul operation, fighting alongside Kurdish forces.
The Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces launched a much-awaited operation late Sunday to retake Mosul - the last Daesh stronghold in northern Iraq, which was overrun by the terrorist group in 2014.
The leader of Islamic State was reported to be among thousands of hardline militants still in the city, suggesting the group would go to great lengths to repel the coalition.
Turkey, which borders northern Iraq, has also offered to join the offensive on Mosul. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly insisted that his country participates, however, insisting that the troops - which include about 150 soldiers deployed in Iraq previous year to train Sunni forces - are part of Turkey's self-defense.
Yildirim told his MPs that Turkey continuously cautioned the United States and the European Union about the region's sensitivities.
"We must win the war but also look at everything that will enable us to win the peace", he said.
"This is going according to the Iraqi plan, but again, it's early and the enemy gets a vote here".
Islamic State militants were preventing people fleeing Mosul, they said, and one said they directed some towards buildings they had recently used themselves.
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Residents of Mosul said Islamic State was using civilians as human shields as Iraqi and Kurdish forces captured outlying villages in their advance on the jihadists' stronghold.
Brigadier General Haider Fadhil said his men had planned to move at dawn, but postponed the operation.
Iraqi forces, supported by the worldwide coalition, yesterday began an offensive to retake control of Mosul, the third largest city in Iraq, an operation that raises concerns about the possible negative consequences for the civilian population, a frequent target of indiscriminate bombing.
The source said that several Iraqi government troops were killed by an IED on Tuesday along the southern frontline of the battle. Baghdad denies it granted permission and has ordered the Turks to withdraw - a call Ankara has ignored.
At Tuesday's rally in Baghdad, the followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr chanted: "Get out, Get out, occupier", and "Yes, yes, for Iraq".
The pause comes after a day of intense fighting involving airstrikes, heavy artillery and IS auto bombs. Mosul is Iraq's second largest city and the IS group's last major urban bastion in the country.
"Our air forces took part in air operations together with coalition forces".
Ajgeiy praised recent success of the joint forces that recently managed to regain control over some 80 square miles in Mosul.
