Iraq

NATO ending training mission in Iraq

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NATO has announced it is to end its training mission in Iraq and withdraw all of its troops from the country by the end of the year.

Talks on extending the training mission in Iraq had stalled over NATO's request for legal immunity for the foreign trainers - an issue that earlier torpedoed plans to keep a residual US military presence in the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had requested the alliance extend the eight-year training mission until the end of 2013, but insisted that all NATO troops in the country be subject to Iraq's laws and judicial system.

The US and NATO feared that service personnel might not receive fair trials in a county where anti-Western sentiment runs high.

NATO currently has about 130 advisers from 13 member nations and the Ukraine in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi prime minister is in Washington for talks with President Obama on the next phase of the relationship between their countries after all US troops have left Iraq.

Mr Maliki has said he's confident his government can deal with the threat from al-Qaeda and other militant groups but syas the security situation remains fragile.

The training mission was started in 2004 at the request of the Iraqi authorities, proving a huge success with trainers spending the last seven years contributing to Iraq's security capacity and helping to develop a more sustainable, multi-ethnic security force.

More than 5,000 military personnel and 10,000 police personnel have been trained in Iraq, with over 115 million euro worth of military equipment and a total of 17.7 million euros in trust fund donations from all 28 NATO Allies for training and education at NATO facilities.

The NATO Secretary General said: “We are determined to build on the success and the spirit of our Training Mission to further strengthen our partnership and political relationship with Iraq, so that together we can continue to contribute to regional peace and stability, which is beneficial for the whole international community.”