Estonian soldiers may return to Iraq - defense minister

Photo: Kaitsejõudude peastaap

Estonia's ability to contribute to the fight against the Sunni extremist group IS is limited, but one way to do this is to send to Iraq instructors of the defense forces to train local armed forces, Defense Minister Hannes Hanso told.

So far the Estonian contribution has consisted of weapons and ammunition provided to the armed forces of Iraq. Estonia is one of the countries in the anti-IS coalition that is planning to increase its input to the campaign. Hanso told Postimees in Brussels on Thursday that Estonia can make a contribution in areas where it has a corresponding capability, therefore there is no point in talking about air strikes but a training mission is conceivable.

«A concrete thing we are currently working on together with the United States and Denmark is possible sending of instructors to Iraq's Anbar province in the summer. We have received a corresponding official proposal from the Danish. We regard it as a necessary and sensible proposal,» Hanso said.

Iraq is not unfamiliar to Estonian military. It was there that Estonian soldiers experienced combat for the first time in 2003, having previously only participated in peacekeeping missions. Estonia also participated in the NATO training mission in Iraq in 2005-2011.

For members of the defense forces to return to Iraq, not a few technical issues have to be settled with the Iraqi government, the defense minister said. "It's very time-consuming and fraught with red tape," he told the paper, observing that it took also Latvian military a long time to get an official invitation from Iraq's government.

Estonian soldiers' training mission in Iraq requires a mandate from the parliament. The question can be placed before the Riigikogu after the Iraqi government gives its consent, Hanso said.

Asked how many instructors are planned to be sent to Iraq, Hanso said the number has not yet been decided, referring to ongoing missions and the commitment to contribute personnel to NATO Response Force. «We're still discussing numbers, but it'll be less than 10 in any case,» he said.

The western province of Anbar bordering Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia was one of the strongholds of IS militants who conquered large chunks of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. The armed forces of Iraq have by now retaken several cities, including the provincial capital Ramadi in January.