Bundeswehr ends mission in Iraq after more than ten years

28 soldiers from Erbil in northern Iraq are the last Bundeswehr contingent to return to Germany. With their return, the German presence in the autonomous region of Kurdistan in Iraq will end after more than a decade, said Lieutenant General Günter Katz at a ceremonial roll call at Wunstorf Air Base near Hanover.

At the beginning of Germany's involvement in Erbil in 2015, the focus was on the fight against the terrorist militia "Islamic State" (IS), said Katz. In the years that followed, many Bundeswehr soldiers contributed to the stabilization of the region, for example by advising the Peshmerga, the armed forces of the Kurdistan Region.

The Federal Government respects the Iraqi government's decision to take the security of its country completely into its own hands again, said State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense, Nils Hilmer. At the same time, Germany is already in the process of laying the foundations for future cooperation with the Iraqi armed forces and security forces, especially with the Peshmerga. Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) said in July that Germany basically wanted to remain involved with the Bundeswehr in Erbil.

Tense security situation in recent months

According to Hilmer, the past few months in particular have been characterized by a tense security situation. Since March there have been increasing attacks throughout the region, including on the air base where most of the German soldiers were housed. There were always changes to the plan around the withdrawal, said Hilmer.

Since 2015, the Bundeswehr has been involved in the international operation against IS in Iraq and Syria. German engagement included contributions to the US-led anti-IS coalition Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) and the strengthening of the Iraqi security sector, the latter primarily as part of the NATO Iraq mission that began in 2018. According to the Bundeswehr, the focus of Operation OIR has now shifted from Iraq to Syria.

The US military was only completely withdrawn from Iraq on Wednesday. This ended a period of highly controversial US military operations in the country in the Middle East, during which the former ruler Saddam Hussein was overthrown and the terrorist militia IS was fought.