LONDON
The U.K. is to send military personnel to Iraq to train Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the country's defense secretary has said.
Michael Fallon told the BBC from Baghdad on Wednesday that military trainers would be sent there to work at the U.S. headquarters in the Iraqi capital.
He said: "We are going to be stepping up our training effort. I can't give you precise numbers. I'm here (in Baghdad) to evaluate training needs and there are areas of expertise, particularly in counter-IED [improvised explosive devices] and roadside car bombs, where we can help from our experience in Afghanistan."
He told the BBC that Iraqi forces urgently needed British help even though Iraqi forces had managed to halt advances by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Fallon said that the U.K. would not commit combat troops to Iraq.
Twelve British trainers are already in Erbil working with Kurdish forces, while the new deployment would mean trainers would also be working with Iraqi troops, he said.
- Thousands killed
British troops left Iraq three years ago after an occupation of eight years that saw the U.S. and the U.K. overthrow Saddam Hussein.
In September, U.K. lawmakers voted for airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq. Airstrikes were carried out four days later.
The U.K. government announced last month it was using Reaper drones to fly surveillance missions over Syria.
It is understood the drones will fly alongside Rivet Joint spy planes, which carry eavesdropping sensors.
The Reaper can be armed, but does not have authorization to fire.
ISIL has captured large swathes of land in Iraq and Syria, declaring what it calls a cross-border Islamic "caliphate," killing thousands of people and displacing millions.
www.aa.com.tr/en
