BERLIN

Germany will reduce the number of troops stationed in northern Iraq, Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, Ursula von der Leyen said Germany was considering to reduce troops from around 150 to around 100.

Following the military victory against Daesh, the German troops will now focus on stabilization efforts, military health services and training of the local Peshmerga forces, von der Leyen said.

Germany has been an active partner of the international coalition against Daesh since 2015, and has deployed nearly 150 troops in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, to train local forces there.

Over the same period, Germany has sent more than 30 shipments of weapons (weighing more than 2,000 tons in total) to the local forces fighting the Daesh terrorist group.