Attacks on Coalition against ISIS in Iraq ‘need to stop’, says Spanish chief diplomat

At least 500 Spanish military personnel have trained 37,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces.

Kurdistan 24 2024/01/25 12:18

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares addresses a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad following their meeting, Jan. 25, 2024. (Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The ongoing attacks against the US-led Coalition against ISIS “need to stop”, the Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in Baghdad in a presser along with his Iraqi counterpart.

“We are here at the request of the government of Iraq and we will leave when the government of Iraq considers," Albares said, adding the repeated attacks that are blamed on the Iranian-backed militias need to stop.

"I consider that it is crucial to avoid a spillover effect of the crisis in Gaza,” he said, echoing the same concerns that have been shared by many regional and Western leaders.

The US-led Coalition against ISIS forces, to which Spain has been a member since its formation in 2014, has been attacked more than 150 times since October 17 by the Iranian-backed militia forces. They have prompted retaliatory strikes against the militia forces, resulting in significant material damages and causalities among the forces.

At least 500 Spanish military personnel have trained 37,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces since then, according to the Coalition.

ISIS was territorially announced defeated in 2017 by the Iraqi and Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces with the US-led Coalition forces. But the group’s remnants still launch sporadic attacks against civilian and security targets.

Kurdistan Region officials have said on many occasions that the Coalition troops need to maintain their operations in the country to enable and assist the Iraqi and Kurdish forces to defeat the terror threats.