New Zealand troops to keep up Iraqi army training

New Zealand troops are set to train more Iraqi troops in the fight against Islamic State insurgents after reaching an important milestone, a New Zealand Defence Force commander said Wednesday.

About 250 Iraqi Army non-commissioned officers have just completed training at Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, bringing the total Iraqi soldiers trained by the joint New Zealand and Australian training force to over 4,000.

"This marks an important milestone in New Zealand's ongoing contribution to international efforts to train and build the capacity of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF)," said Major General Tim Gall, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand.

"Building the capability of the ISF to a level necessary to secure the defeat of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) will take time," Gall said in a statement.

"What is encouraging is that the Iraqis are regaining their confidence and have begun to demonstrate, like in Ramadi, the capability and determination they need to mount a successful counter-offensive," Gall said.

One of the brigades trained by the combined New Zealand-Australian task group had been involved in the counter-offensive in Ramadi late last year.

A new group of ISF trainees would start training in mid-March.

New Zealand had deployed 106 troops to support the Building Partner Capacity mission, an international effort to combat ISIL by helping to train the ISF.

"We expect more ISF members will be trained in coming months, showing the Iraqi government's regard for the value of the training program and the enhanced capabilities of their trained forces," Gall added. Endit