NATO has “temporarily” withdrawn its mission from Iraq, two Iraqi security officials told Agence France-Presse on Friday, against the backdrop of the ongoing war in the Middle East, according to AFP.
An official from Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said that “the NATO mission has left the +Union 3 Union III+ base, except for a few who remain.” Another official confirmed “the temporary withdrawal of the mission (…) because they are concerned about the situation,” noting that the mission “informed the Iraqi government before the withdrawal (…) and there is no disagreement” between the two sides.
The NATO mission in Iraq serves an advisory role to the Iraqi forces, and its mandate is non-combat. It is headquartered at an Iraqi military base in the heart of Baghdad, near the U.S. Embassy, which has been targeted several times by rockets and drones since the start of the war.