NATO Considers Training Iraqi Forces Fighting ISIL – US Envoy to NATO

NATO is considering sending military personnel to Iraq to train local forces amid the Islamic State jihadist group advance in the country, the US ambassador to NATO said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in June, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi accused the US-led coalition of not doing enough to help Iraq in the fight on the ground against the ISIL.

“NATO is working on defense capacity-building effort where NATO as an institution would, on demand of the government of Iraq, offer particular capacity-building assistance,” Douglas Lute said, as quoted by The Guardian.

He added that no decision had been made on whether to conduct training in Iraq, or outside the country.

The alliance has helped Iraq in the past, as NATO had a training mission in the country from 2004 to 2011.

Despite an extensive program involving some 5,000 Iraqi officers, the Iraq army was not able to counter recent ISIL advances. Last month, ISIL militants captured Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province, located some 80 miles west of Baghdad. Since 2014, jihadists have captured vast territories in the country.

Earlier in June, US President Barack Obama approved sending 450 military personnel to advise and train Iraqi forces in addition to the some 3,000 US troops already stationed in the country.