The international anti-jihadist coalition led by the United States has stopped training Iraqi troops and withdrawn soldiers from the country. It is a preventive measure against the spread of the new coronavirus, said an official Thursday.
The epidemic has left 13 dead and nearly 180 infected, with less than 2,000 people tested across Iraq. In neighboring Iran, the number of people infected rose to 18,407 and that of the dead to 1,284, according to an official report.
The UK withdraws part of its troops
Thus, the 2,500 foreign instructors of the coalition suspended their training in early March, said a senior officer of the coalition on condition of anonymity. "We are telling our men, no need to be physically there when we can wait," he said from Iraq. "When the coronavirus crisis subsides, we will bring the men back and resume the training that is necessary," he added.
The United Kingdom, which is part of dozens of other coalition states, has announced that it will repatriate part of its troops stationed in Iraq. The British Ministry of Defense has "decided to redeploy part of its troops to the United Kingdom", specifying in a press release that the training missions in which the country has participated since 2014 have been stopped for 60 days. London will, however, maintain essential military personnel in Iraq, the text added.
Troops relocated to other bases
These withdrawals come at a time when the coalition is at the same time redeploying its troops, leaving three Iraqi bases to concentrate its men on the other bases it shares with local troops. "We will continue to support the Iraqi security forces to fight against the Islamic State (IS) group, but from fewer bases and with fewer men," said the top ranking coalition official in Baghdad.
Most troops will be relocated to Iraq, while some soldiers will be sent to neighboring Syria and Kuwait. After the assassination in Baghdad of a senior Iranian military official and his Iraqi lieutenant by Washington in January, the Iraqi parliament had voted in favor of the departure of foreign troops from Iraq, including 5,200 American soldiers.
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