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WELLINGTON, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The fourth contingent of 106 New Zealand soldiers left for Australia Friday to prepare for their deployment to Iraq, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has announced.
The New Zealand troops would undergo integration training with the Australian Defence Force in the lead-up to their joint mission to train Iraqi troops in the fight against Islamic State insurgents (Daesh).
Following the two-week integration training, the New Zealand troops and about 300 Australian personnel would go to Camp Taji, north of Baghdad, as the fourth rotation of the combined New Zealand-Australia training group.
The new group of New Zealand trainers would build on the success of the three previous NZDF contingents, which had established an easy rapport with the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) they were training, said the incoming NZDF Senior National Officer and Deputy Commander of Task Group Taji, who was not named, in a statement.
"Previous contingents have established a positive relationship with the ISF under their instruction. This dimension of our influence cannot be underestimated as we strive to build the ISF's capacity," he said.
Major General Tim Gall, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said that through the Building Partner Capacity training mission, New Zealand was helping the Iraqi military develop capable forces to sustain its counter-offensive against Daesh.
"Iraq needs a capable ground force to recover areas seized by Daesh and preserve the gains made against the violent extremists. Although the Iraqi military's offensive has begun to turn the tide against Daesh, they need continued support through training," Gall said in the statement.
Task Group Taji had trained more than 12,000 Iraqi soldiers since the mission began in May 2015.
The New Zealand government announced in June that it had extended the NZDF contribution to the training mission until November 2018.
The government had also agreed in principle to allow New Zealand soldiers to provide training to stabilization forces such as the Iraqi Border Guards, in addition to the Iraqi Army.
The training offered includes weapons handling, combat first aid, live firing, building clearance, counter-IED (improvised explosive device), leadership, and tactics and techniques for squad through to company-level operations.
