US-led coalition reveals training more than 15,000 Iraqi security forces

The US embassy in Iraq announced in a statement on Thursday that the international coalition has trained more than 15 thousand Iraqi security elements since 2014.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – The US Embassy in Iraq announced in a statement on Thursday that the international coalition has trained more than 15,000 Iraqi security forces since 2014.  The statement stressed the vitality of these efforts in order to support Iraqi forces in defeating IS.

A source in the Office of the US Embassy told a K24 reporter in Baghdad that since 2014, the members of the coalition, led by the United States have trained exactly 15,892 Iraqi soldiers and police forces in more than fifteen locations across Iraq.

“The US-led coalition advisors have trained more than 15,000 members of the ISF (Iraqi Security Forces) and more than 4,000 personnel are being trained in military camps throughout Iraq as part of the international coalition’s efforts to support Iraq in the battle against IS,” the official statement on the US Embassy in Iraq website reads.

The statement also said the training focused on urban warfare, mine clearance, and dealing with improvised explosive devices (IED's), in addition to rescue procedures in battlefields and other vital skills. 

The US-led coalition started  in 2014 when a number of countries came together to discuss concrete actions against IS.

The “September 5” coalition includes  ten countries altogether, decided to support anti-IS forces in Iraq and Syria, while the “December 3” involves 59 countries, and agreed on a multi-dimensional strategy against IS, including cutting off its financing and funding.