UK Sends Support Team To Iraq To Join British Personnel

The United Kingdom has sent a team to Iraq to help the British military contingency plan for every eventuality, including for if personnel need to evacuate the country.

The small team will provide soldiers additional situational awareness, command support and contingency planning assistance.

The US-led coalition's training of Iraqi forces has already been suspended following the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, including the UK's contribution, with a coalition statement saying: "Our first priority is protecting all coalition personnel committed to the defeat of Daesh.

"This has limited our capacity to conduct training with partners and to support their operations against Daesh and we have therefore paused these activities, subject to continuous review."

There are around 400 British soldiers deployed to three different sites in Iraq - Camp Taji near Baghdad, Union III in Baghdad, and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The German military confirmed today it has removed 35 personnel from Iraq - including 32 from Camp Taji.

The Iraqi parliament voted to expel all foreign forces from the country following the killing of General Soleimani last week in a US air strike.

US officials say they are braced for Iran to respond to the Iranian's death, possibly in the form of a "tit-for-tat" attempt on the life of an American military commander.

General Soleimani is thought to have played a major role in the deaths of thousands of civilians and western military personnel.

Cover image: British soldier at Camp Taji in Iraq in 2018 (Picture: PA).