German minister visits Iraq, Jordan to consider army deployment

German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht travelled to Jordan and Iraq this weekend as the government in Berlin considers whether to keep its troops in the region beyond the end of January, reported dpa.

Lambrecht spoke with members of the Bundeswehr armed forces in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday in order to get a better picture of their deployment, a spokesperson said.

She also held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Defence Minister Juma'a Enad.

On Saturday, Lambrecht was in Jordan to meet German soldiers and members of the Jordanian government.

She visited the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, where German soldiers are stationed as part of an international military alliance against the Islamic State terrorist group.

They are supporting the US-led coalition by refuelling mission aircraft.

Germany contributes a total of around 240 soldiers to the alliance's missions across Jordan, Iraq and Syria.

The German parliament first approved the mandate for the deployment in 2015 and extended it in October 2020.

Speaking in Erbil in northern Iraq, Lambrecht said the fight against Islamic State had not yet been won. "We have made great strides, but we are not yet at the stage that we can say IS is defeated," she said.