Spain Sends 300 Military Personnel to Iraq

by **Ponee** Thu Feb 23, 2017 10:18 am

The Spanish personnel are training the Iraqi police

Spain Sends 300 Military Personnel to Iraq A3990c61c7bb1f8d98c87ecf86c72b98_L

LEEDS — Spanish troops are currently training 500 new Iraqi police officers in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, as part of the US-led coalition efforts against the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, the US Central Command said on Wednesday.

The US Central Command declared in a statement on Twitter on Wednesday "security forces in Mosul are training an additional 500 police officers with the help of Spanish instructors."

In July last year, the Spanish Defense Minister, Pedro Morenes, announced that the US-led coalition has asked Madrid to increase its training of Iraqi troops as the country was then preparing to launch the operation for liberating the city of Mosul.

Spain has reportedly sent about 300 military personnel to Iraq, aiming to train and advise the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) in their operation against IS in Mosul. Up to date, more than 900 Spanish military personnel have served in Iraq since the Operation Inherent Resolve began in 2014, Sputnik reported.

The operation led by the Iraqi forces backed by the US-led coalition which started in October last year is currently ongoing as the forces entered the second phase of the operation aiming to liberate the western half of Mosul after the full liberation of eastern half at the beginning of 2017.

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/iraq/332132

02.23.2017