The training mission of Dutch soldiers in northern Iraq will continue for the time being, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms to NU.nl. In Baghdad, a smaller training mission is temporarily suspended.
As part of an international coalition led by the United States, some 60 Dutch soldiers are stationed in Iraq.
Relations between the United States and Iran and Iraq have been on the alert since the Iranian top general Qassem Soleimani was killed last Friday in an American drone attack in Baghdad. The senior Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis was also killed.
Iraqi parliament wants to send foreign troops away
There is great outrage in Iraq about the unannounced attack on Iraqi territory. Sunday the Iraqi parliament took one non-binding resolution to send foreign troops out of the country. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi indicated earlier that he would approve it.
United States military forces and allies have been in Iraq since 2014 as part of an international coalition against Islamic State (IS) and fought against the terrorist group with Iraqi forces. Although they are there with the permission of the Iraqi government, the presence of foreign soldiers in Iraq is a politically sensitive issue.
Mission in Erbil continues
The spokesperson for Foreign Affairs emphasizes that the Dutch soldiers are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government. “We are studying the resolution of the Iraqi parliament and are in contact with partners.”
In the north of Iraq near Erbil, some forty Dutch Marines are training Kurdish forces. This mission in the relatively quiet north will continue for the time being.
Another training mission in Baghdad, where three to twelve Dutch commandos work, has been temporarily suspended by the international coalition, says the Foreign Affairs spokesperson. Security measures have been taken, but there would still be no reason to have them come back.
Tensions rise
On Monday, NATO will hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on the rising tensions in the Middle East. It was announced on Saturday that additional security measures will be taken to protect NATO forces against possible retaliation.
Since the death of Soleimani on Friday, threats have been flying back and forth between the United States and Iran. The great Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has promised to take “hard revenge” for the death of Soleimani. The American president Donald Trump is threatening with a “hard and fast” attack if reprisals come against American interests.
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