NATO agrees to expandIraq training mission

BRUSSELS: NATO defence ministers agreed Wednesday to expand the alliance´s training mission in Iraq, responding to US President Donald Trump´s demand for more action from allies in the Middle East. The idea is for NATO, which runs a 500-strong mission to train Iraqi forces, to take on personnel from the US-led multinational coalition against the Islamic State group. “Allied Defence Ministers have agreed in principle to enhance NATO´s training mission in Iraq in close cooperation & coordination with the Iraqi government,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted. Spain said it was ready to transfer troops currently working under the aegis of the coalition to the NATO mission, as Western powers seek to enable Iraq to prevent any resurgence of the feared jihadist group.