Germany suspends military training operations in Iraq, Kurdistan
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The German military announced on Wednesday that it had suspended all training operations in Iraq and the autonomous Kurdistan Region due to tensions arising from the current Iran crisis, Germany’s DPA news agency reported.
The move affects not only the European nation's mission in cooperation with federal Iraqi security forces but also those involving Kurdish Peshmerga forces, Secretary-General of the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga Ministry Jabar Yawar told Kurdistan 24.
Germany is one of the key members of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State. Over the past few years, the country has provided extensive military and humanitarian aid to the Kurdistan Region, with its foreign and defense ministers visiting Erbil on multiple occasions.
Additionally, Yawar mentioned that US troops and military advisers in Iraq had also suspended their training operations for an unknown period, but that has not yet been confirmed by American officials.
Earlier on Wednesday, the US State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency US government employees from its embassy in Baghdad and consulate-general in Erbil, as well as the suspension of normal visa services.
“The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Iraq,” a statement read.
Editing by John J. Catherine