Status: 09.01.2022 4:01 p.m.
The Bundeswehr has been involved in the anti-IS mission in Iraq since 2015. The mandate will soon be extended. Defense Minister Lambrecht is in the country to speak to German soldiers and Iraqi officials.
Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) visited German soldiers in Iraq to find out about the Bundeswehr mission there.
In the discussions with the military command personnel, Lambrecht received information on current developments in the “Inherent Resolve” and “Nato Training Mission Iraq” operations. As the Defense Ministry wrote on Twitter, the Bundestag’s mandate extension for the Federal Armed Forces operations in Iraq and Jordan will soon be due. According to the Bundeswehr, the current mandate ends on January 31, 2022.
Talks with political leaders
Lambrecht also spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kasimi and Iraqi Defense Minister Juma Inad in Baghdad. She discussed the security situation in the region with the two politicians, the German-Iraqi cooperation and the joint engagement against the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS).
Yesterday in Jordan
In Jordan the minister had already yesterday at the Al-Asrak air base to get an idea of the German participation in the international operation against the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS). There she also met with German soldiers for an initial personal exchange, the Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter.
According to the operational command, around 150 German soldiers are currently stationed in Jordan. The Bundeswehr is supporting the US-led anti-IS coalition there by refueling emergency aircraft. In total, Germany is currently involved with around 240 soldiers in the anti-terrorist alliance operations in Jordan, Iraq and via Syria.
Lambrecht also spoke to the Jordanian King Abullah II about the deepening of the cooperation between Germany and Jordan. The country is an “essential security anchor in the region,” it said in a tweet from the ministry.
In 2014, IS had conquered parts of the Jordanian neighbors Iraq and Syria. After the military victory over the so-called caliphate established by IS in 2016, the jihadist militia remained active in Iraq and various other countries.