Laurence Dollimore
SPAIN will not withdraw its troops from Iraq despite the recent ‘victory’ over ISIS.
According to head Spanish military trainer Luis Zaldumbide, the time has not yet come to remove the more than 500 soldiers who have been in the Middle Eastern country since 2014.
“Despite the reports about defeating ISIS [Daesh] in the region, it is necessary to continue supporting the Iraqi army strongly,” he said.
He said Spain has 541 soldiers in Iraq and they have trained more than 20,000 Iraqi soldiers, including 7,000 policemen.
They also trained Iraqi brigades that fought against Daesh aka ISIS.
Currently 1,900 Iraqi soldiers and policemen are working under the guardianship of Spanish forces across Iraq, he explained.
Thirty more Spanish troops are expected to arrive soon.
