Finland is sending about 50 soldiers to the Kurdistan Region to train Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting Islamic State (IS), Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported on Monday.
The Finnish trainers, which all have experience of operations in Afghanistan, Mali or Somalia, are to leave for the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq in August this year, said Yle.
Brigadier General Petri Hulkko from the Finnish Defence Force told Yle that the course will comprise mainly combat training, including shooting, small group tactical training, teamwork and leadership.
In order to protect against potential attacks, the Finnish soldiers leaving for Iraq will remain anonymous.
“Peacekeepers on this operation will not show their faces or reveal their names, or give statements to the media,” Hulkko was quoted as saying.
According to the Finnish Defence Force, Finland’s dispatch of trainers to the KRG is part of the training mission of Operation Inherent Resolve, an international operation launched in autumn 2014 to combat IS, based on a UN Security Council resolution.
