ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish Peshmerga officials said Wednesday that Finland's Ministry of Defense has ordered up to 50 additional advisors to the Kurdistan Region to train and assist forces in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS), boosting Finland's involvement in the battle against Sunni extremists.
Another 50 Finnish advisors are already operating in the Kurdistan Region since 2015, assisting Peshmerga troops in combat missions.
Kurdish military commander Sirwan Barzani, who is currently visiting Helsinki, told Rudaw that the additional Finnish troops will be deployed "in the near future," without giving a detailed timeframe.
"We have also asked our Finnish partners for logistical assistance and to receive our wounded Peshmerga soldiers," Barzani said.
Over 4,000 Peshmerga troops have been wounded in the two-year war against the militants, many of whom have already been sent to neighboring countries for treatment, according to the Ministry of Peshmerga.
"We asked Finland's Defense Ministry to help us with military hospitals near the war zones or send us medical teams which our troops desperately need," said Peshmerga General Hazhar Baziani, who also accompanied the Kurdish delegation.
France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Sweden are among the European nations that have deployed military personnel to Kurdistan Region to assist the battling Peshmerga forces.
A top Kurdish military team visited Finland this week and met with defense officials in a bid to increase Finland's support for the Peshmerga forces.
