WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — New Zealand has decided to join the fight against Islamic State (ISIL) by contributing New Zealand Defence Force personnel to a training mission in Iraq, United States State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Tuesday.
“We welcome New Zealand’s decision to contribute New Zealand Defence Force personnel to a Building Partner Capacity training mission in Iraq as part of the Counter-ISIL Coalition,” Psaki said.
New Zealand has already helped provide humanitarian assistance in both Iraq and Syria, Psaki added.
The military intervention against IS began in the summer of 2014 when the US started sending non-operational troops into Iraq alongside a large-scale air campaign over the region that began in August 2014.
