In September, the German government requested parliamentary authorization to prolong its military presence in Iraq deployment of 500 soldiers until January 31, 2026.
The Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, held a session on the issue on Thursday, and after 40 minutes of debate most of the politicians voted in favor of passing the bill - of the 539 members present, only 93 members voted against the continuation and two abstained.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani welcomed the decision.
"I greatly welcome the decision of the German government and parliament to extend the mandate of German troops serving in Iraq," he said in a post on X.
I greatly welcome the decision of the German government and parliament to extend the mandate of German troops serving in Iraq.
ISIS remains a serious threat to Iraq, regional security and stability. I highly value the presence and contributions of our international coalition...
— Nechirvan Barzani (@IKRPresident) October 17, 2024
The German forces have served as part of the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS), supporting Iraqi forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga.
"ISIS remains a serious threat to Iraq, regional security and stability. I highly value the presence and contributions of our international coalition partners in the ongoing fight against terror," Barzani added.
With bases in Baghdad and Erbil, the German forces have been an essential member of the coalition that was established in October 2014 after ISIS took control of vast swathes of territories in Iraq and Syria.
Consisting of 87 members including 60 countries, the coalition’s stated mission has been "degrading and ensuring ISIS’s enduring defeat," using an Arabic acronym for the bad boy group.
German troops are also in Iraq as part of NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants...
’s mission, which focuses on security sector reforms.
In addition to training and logistical support, weapons provided by Germany, especially the guided anti-tank MILAN missiles, have been essential to Peshmerga forces’ fight against the terror group.