All Dutch military personnel and civilian specialists participating in the NATO mission in Iraq have left the country and are returning to the Netherlands.
Netherlands Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius announced this on her X social media page, stating that NATO decided to change the format of its mission in Iraq and relocate its personnel to Europe amid the worsening security situation in the Middle East. “For this reason, all Dutch military and civilian experts have left Iraq. They are returning to the Netherlands,” the minister wrote.
She also noted that the mission will continue in a limited format from NATO’s Joint Force Command in Naples in the near future.
NATO Mission Iraq was established following the alliance’s summit in Brussels in July 2018 and officially began operations in Baghdad in October of the same year. Its mandate includes advising and training Iraqi security forces, strengthening defense institutions, and supporting Iraq’s counterterrorism efforts.
