Some of the several hundred Turkish troops who had been stationed in a camp outside the Iraqi city of Mosul have pulled out, state media said Monday, after the deployment infuriated Baghad.

Some of the several hundred Turkish troops who had been stationed in a camp outside the Iraqi city of Mosul have pulled out, state media said Monday, after the deployment infuriated Baghad.

"Some of the Turkish troops stationed in Bashiqa have transited to the north as part of a new arrangement," Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency said, quoting military sources.

It did not specify if they were moving deeper into northern Iraqi territory controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) -- which has strong relations with Ankara -- or heading back to Turkey.

Anatolia said the troops were carried in a convoy of 10-12 military vehicles but did not give further details on numbers.

Turkey earlier this month announced that hundreds of troops had been deployed at the camp, claiming that the move was aimed at protecting Turkish military trainers who were training local fighters seeking to recapture Mosul from the Takfiri group ISIL (so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Levant).

But the deployment outraged the Iraqi government in Baghdad, which bitterly complained to Ankara and said it would take the issue to the UN Security Council.