Germany suspends military training in Iraq over increased regional tensions

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi give a press conference at the Chancellery on 30 April 2019 in Berlin. [TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images]

Germany has suspended its military training programmes in Iraq because of growing regional tensions, a defence ministry spokesman said yesterday.

The spokesman said Germany has indications of potential attacks supported by Iran, adding that this did not mean the training programmes could not resume in the coming days, Reuters reported.

Earlier in the day, the US State Department ordered all non-emergency staff to leave the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate in Erbil, due to fears of attack.

An alert published on the US embassy in Iraq’s website said employees nationwide should depart “as soon as possible” and avoid American facilities in the country.

Washington has recently deployed additional military forces to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier and warplanes in a show of force due to what US officials said was a threat to American forces and interests in the region.

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