New Zealand rotates troops in Iraq, sends nearly 100 soldiers

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Almost 100 forces from New Zealand left for Iraq to train local troops as part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS), New Zealand’s Sun Live reported on Thursday.

The coalition’s Task Group Taji in Iraq, made of military advisers from Australia and New Zealand, has so far trained thousands of Iraqi soldiers and federal police forces. The number of security officers undergoing training with the two nations is expected to reach 34,000 by the end of April.

“Together with our Australian partners, we have helped Iraqi authorities develop a self-reliant and confident force in the past three years,” said Major General Tim Gall, the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand.

Gall and the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Peeni Henare, bade farewell to the rotating forces at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Ohakea Wednesday afternoon.

“As a member of the global coalition of 74 countries, we have made a significant contribution to the Iraqi Government's efforts to defeat IS and liberate parts of their country that were controlled by the terror group,” Gall stated.

It has been encouraging to see Iraqi soldiers eager and motivated to improve their soldiering skills and using the skills that Task Group Taji taught them, he added.

“Our contingent is looking forward to helping train the Iraqi forces. We will also be working closely with Iraqi Army schools as we begin to focus on training Iraqi trainers to provide their forces with the professional training staff.”

Coalition training programmes for Iraqi and Kurdish forces usually run for six weeks and cover different military skills tests. They include individual soldier skills, weapons handling and marksmanship in close quarters and long-range, combat first aid, obstacle-breaching techniques and counter-IED (improvised explosive device) and explosive hazard awareness training.

The combined New Zealand-Australia training mission in Iraq started in May 2015. Over the past three years, New Zealand has deployed more than 700 troops to Iraq.

Editing by Nadia Riva