Germany is reducing its troop numbers in Iraq for security reasons after the death of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad last week.
It is the first coalition withdrawal since the Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to call for the withdrawal of US forces from the country. The non-binding resolution has prompted a chaotic response from US officials. The German decision underlines the extent to which the assassination may have weakened the years-long efforts of the coalition forces to fight Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Nato has already announced that all training of Iraqi forces has been suspended. […]
Canada announced it was moving some of its 500 troops based in Iraq out of the country and sending them to Kuwait. […]
UK sources confirmed on Tuesday morning that about 50 British personnel had been relocated out of Baghdad’s secure Green Zone, either to nearby Taji or out of the country. Meanwhile, about 20 military planners have flown in to help prepare for different scenarios, ranging from a deepening of the conflict with Iran to a full departure from the country. […]
British forces stopped training Iraqi soldiers in countering Isis terrorism on Sunday and the forces are focused on “force protection” – defending themselves from local reprisals, particularly pro-Iran militias. Läs artikel