BRUSSELS: NATO will expand its training of Iraqi military forces and start running programs in Iraq itself in January, said the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg said the alliance plans “to start training and capacity building in Iraq” early next year. “We have trained hundreds of Iraqi officers in Jordan,” he explained. “In January, we will expand that training and capacity-building into Iraq itself. He made the remarks following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers “on projecting stability,” according to a NATO press statement released on Tuesday. He also hailed the ongoing US-led coalition efforts against ISIS.
“Both in Syria and in Iraq,” he said, “the US-led Global Coalition is making steady progress. ISIL is losing ground. Once Mosul falls, local forces will need to hold the territory. So building local capacity remains essential.”
Several NATO alliance countries are members of the US-led coalition against ISIS and have supported Iraqi and Kurdish forces against ISIS with air support and training. “We decided to provide AWACS support to the Counter-ISIL Coalition,” Stoltenberg said, referring to the airborne early warning and control aircraft used for command, control, and communications.
In his remarks the secretary-general also said the alliance is “deeply concerned about the renewed offensive by the Syrian regime, supported by Russia,” and accordingly called for a “political solution,” which includes “a cessation of violence and the resumption of humanitarian aid.”
