Fresh New Zealand troops heading to training mission in Iraq

The third rotation of New Zealand troops to help train Iraqi soldiers in the fight against Islamic state insurgents has left for the war-torn country, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said Wednesday.

Major General Tim Gall, the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said the training provided by the combined New Zealand-Australian military training force had had a real impact in improving the effectiveness of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

"On a number of occasions, the Iraqi government has recognized that the quality training we are providing has helped restore the confidence of their officers and soldiers, and has contributed to some of the positive outcomes on the battlefield," Gall said in a statement.

"Soldiers previously trained by New Zealand and Australian troops were involved in the counter-attack that regained Ramadi from Daesh late last year. Two other groups we trained are supporting offensive operations in other parts of Iraq."

The rotation of about 100 New Zealand troops left from Adelaide, South Australia, after about three weeks of joint readiness training with their Australian counterparts.

They would join Task Group Taji, comprised of around 100 NZDF soldiers and 300 Australian Defence Force personnel, at a base north of Baghdad.

Task Group Taji had so far trained more than 5,000 Iraqi soldiers as part of an international effort to combat Daesh (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) by helping to train the ISF.

In March, the New Zealand government accepted a review of the first nine months of the training mission, claiming it had been a success.

However, opposition lawmakers challenged the government to prove the assertion, saying review that had been extensively redacted on publication. Endit