Norwegian soldiers are not participating in the Mosul offensive

Norwegian soldiers.Photo: wikipedia.org

The Norwegian soldiers contributing to the US-led war against IS, do not participate in the military offensive against Mosul, said the Defense department.

Norway has about 70 soldiers stationed in Arbil in northern Iraq, and around 20 of them are medical soldiers at an American field hospital whilst the others are instructors from the Telemark Battalion, who since May 2015 has run training of Kurdish militiamen.

– The Norwegian instructors are still in Arbil and comply with the mandate they have been given to train Kurdish forces there, said Maj Elisabeth Eikeland of the Defense operational Headquarters to the news agency NTB.

None of the Norwegians are located near Mosul, where the Kurdish militia soldiers are now participating in the offensive to retake the city from IS, she emphasizes.

The impending battle of Mosul can make the Norwegian sanitary soldiers very busy in the days ahead.

– The surgical unit is a very important resource, stressed Chief of Defence Haakon Bruun-Hanssen when he visited the Norwegian contingent in Arbil earlier this month.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today

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