Denmark to send more troops to NATO training mission in Iraq

Denmark will send up to 285 military personnel to NATO’s non-combat training operation in Iraq, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofoed said on Thursday. Copenhagen takes over leadership of the mission training Iraqi security forces from Canada by the end of 2020.

“By strengthening our contribution to the stabilization of Iraq we reduce the risk of new refugee crises while we at the same time increase our guard against the threat from terror groups,” Kofoed said in a statement. The minister singled out the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS).

The Danish parliament has also agreed to send a ship and a helicopter including up to 195 staff to a European-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz, for a four-month period from August 2020. A fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait.