ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The United Kingdom has announced it will boost its commitment to Iraq, agreeing to send military experts to Iraq and the Kurdistan region to train bomb-disposal teams and other Iraqi forces, the UK National Security Council in a statement on Thursday.
The UK will send military advisers, trainers and an undisclosed number of soldiers, according to the statement. The announcement from the UK described the Kurdistan region as safe and conducive for carrying out military campaigns against the Islamic State.
“The military trainers will share their skills in dealing with roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices that have been a favorite weapon of Islamic State [ISIS] militants,” said the statement.
“The UK wants to send bomb-disposal teams to Erbil and Baghdad to provide military facilities to the Iraqi forces,” the statement said.
According to UK media, 100 military advisers and military trainers have been stationed in the Kurdistan region and have trained 1,200 Peshmerga on weapons, urban warfare and bomb disposal.
The UK launched its first airstrikes against ISIS targets in Iraq on September 30, four days after British parliament approved military action following a request from the Iraqi government.
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