Kadhimi calls for expansion of partnership with NATO

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Newly-appointed Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has invited NATO’s Secretary-General to visit Baghdad “as soon as possible” to discuss ways of increasing collaboration with the NATO mission in Iraq.

According to a statement published by the prime minister’s office on Friday, Kadhimi received a congratulatory phone call from the Secretary-General of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg on Friday, during which Kadhimi took the opportunity to encourage continued cooperation.

“Kadhimi invited [Stoltenberg] to visit Baghdad as soon as possible with his team to discuss ways to raise the level of joint work, especially in the fields of training and support to the security forces,” the statement reads.

The military alliance organization also released a statement on Friday after the phone call between Kadhimi and Stoltenberg.

“NATO remains fully committed to continue its efforts to strengthen the Iraqi security forces and institutions and to step up our cooperation with the Iraqi government in the fight against terrorism,” NATO statement reads.

NATO agreed in 2018 to launch a training mission in Iraq involving around 500 troops with the aim of building up the capacity of the country’s armed forces to better fight the Islamic State (ISIS).

The organization announced it was preparing to shift troops from the US-led coalition to defeat ISIS to the alliance earlier this year.

However, following the US drone strike on January 3 which killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad airport, the Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution demanding the expulsion of all foreign forces, and the NATO operation was placed on hold.

Iraq decided in January to review its security relationship with the US-led coalition by attempting to reach a new security agreement with NATO.

In this new deal, foreign troops would remain in Iraq under the control of NATO. Their role would be limited to training and advising, and would no longer be permitted to carry out ground operations.

There are fears a premature withdrawal of foreign troops could allow ISIS to resurge.

Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has placed tackling ISIS high on his list of priorities, since ISIS has increased its activities and insurgency in Iraq.

The leader placed providing more military equipment and weaponry to security forces "in order to face the increased ISIS activities in liberated provinces [once under the group's territorial control],” on his agenda published Wednesday.

Formed in 2014 after ISIS swept across large areas of Syria and Iraq, the 81-country coalition has supported Iraqi and Peshmerga forces with training, equipment, and air cover.

ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017. However, remnants of the group continue to wage a low level insurgency, launching ambushes, kidnappings, and targeted killings.

In its most deadly attack since its territorial defeat, the group carried out a five-pronged offensive on Iraqi security forces that killed ten members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Saladin on Saturday.

On the same day, militants killed three federal police officers and wounded two others in an attack on Zaghniya police station, Diyala province.

The attacks were just two of 64 carried out in Iraq between April 30 and May 6 for which the group claimed responsibility via al-Nabaa on Thursday. More than half were conducted in the province of Diyala alone.

In mid-April, then-Iraqi Defense Minister Najah al-Shammari vowed the government would “ramp up” anti-ISIS efforts to prevent the group from capitalizing on Baghdad's prioritization of its efforts on the coronavirus crisis.

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