NATO announced on Friday that its mission in Iraq is being fully relocated to Europe, as Iran continues to launch attacks on Gulf countries in response to the war launched by the United States and Israel against it, Reuters, AFP and The New York Times wrote.
The alliance's headquarters in Mons, Belgium, said in a statement that it was “safely relocating” Iraqi mission personnel to Naples, Italy.
A NATO official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, that it was “several hundred troops”.
It is unclear when or if they will return to Iraq.
“I would like to thank the Republic of Iraq and all allies who helped to safely relocate NATO personnel from Iraq,” said US General Alexus Grykewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
The mission was created in 2018
NATO's mission in Iraq was created in 2018 as a non-combat training and advisory effort to strengthen Iraqi security forces. At the time, the Islamic State organization was retreating from its deadly campaign in Syria and northern Iraq. The purpose of the mission was to ensure that Iraqi forces could stabilize their country and prevent a return of the Islamic State.
The withdrawal comes 23 years after the US-led coalition invaded Iraq in 2003 to oust then-president Saddam Hussein. The operation sparked a civil war and left behind an unstable and vulnerable country.
US combat troops withdrew at the end of 2011, and just a few months later the Islamic State insurgency began.
Among the Iraqi armed groups fighting the Islamic State were militias supported by Iran. US forces have clashed repeatedly in Iraq with those backed by Tehran, including militias that attacked US diplomatic missions as recently as last week.
Allison Hart, a NATO spokeswoman, said the alliance would continue its training mission. “The safety and security of our staff is paramount,” she stressed, declining to provide further details.
