Kurdish leaders welcome German decision to keep troops in Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The president and prime minister of the Kurdistan Region on Friday welcomed the German parliament’s decision to extend the mandate of their forces as part of the Global Coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) and NATO mission in Iraq.

“I thank Germany for extending its forces’ mandate as part of the global coalition against ISIS in Iraq. We appreciate Germany’s continued assistance to the Kurdistan Region. Iraq and the region still need the support of the global coalition to defeat ISIS,” said President Nechirvan Barzani in a tweet on Friday.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also welcomed the move, saying “Germany has been central to the war on ISIS and support for the Peshmerga, including training.”

Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, voted on Thursday to keep forces in Iraq as part of the Coalition and NATO’s training mission until January 2022. The parliament reviews its commitment to the military missions annually. Last year, it approved extending the mandate for a year, but reduced its total number of troops across the Middle East from 800 to 700.

The Coalition was formed in 2014 in response to the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. It trained Iraqi forces, and Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria, armed them, and led the air campaign against ISIS.

Although Iraq announced the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq in December 2017, remnants of the group have returned to their earlier insurgency tactics, ambushing security forces, kidnapping and executing suspected informants, and extorting money from vulnerable rural populations.

NATO began training Iraqi forces in 2018 and this year decided to expand its mission.

The renewed military commitment comes as the United States is under pressure to withdraw from Iraq. Iranian-backed militia groups ceased a campaign of rocket and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on US interests in Iraq earlier this month on condition Washington abide by an Iraqi parliament resolution calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

In a press conference with his German counterpart in Berlin on September 14, 2020, Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Iraq still needs the training, advice, and support of the US-led Coalition and Germany in the fight against ISIS.

“Baghdad still needs to confront the ISIS threat. ISIS is not defeated completely yet,” said Hussein.

The German foreign minister, Heiko Maas, pledged Germany’s continued support for Baghdad.

“Germany is keen on continuing the military support for Iraq, as we always aim to maintain the security in Iraq,” Maas said. “Germany will continue its mission in Iraq, as there are still fights against ISIS in some areas in Iraq.”

Berlin has also provided funds for Iraq’s reconstruction and stabilization. In 2018, it invested 90 million euros in water sanitation, sewage, and construction. In April this year, Germany officially handed over the Peshmerga hospital in Erbil to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The facility treats members of the Kurdistan Region’s security forces wounded in the ISIS war.

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