Troops ready for Iraq

Just over 100 Hungarian troops ready to join the international coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) will soon leave for Erbil, Iraq, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has said in Baghdad. Szijjártó said six officers serving at command posts would go at the end of May, with the deployment of the remaining troops by the end of August. He said 110 troops would be in Iraq, with a further 27 standing by in Hungary. The minister said Iraq was appreciative of the Hungarian government’s efforts, being the first Central European country to send troops. The defeat of IS is in the best interests of both Europe and the Middle East, he said. The Hungarians will handle security tasks in and around Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. They will guard the Kurdish peshmerga forces’ military base and its officers. Szijjártó also held talks with Iraqi officials on the country’s reconstruction phase after IS.