Uncertain future for anti-ISIS coalition

Shaimaa Hefzi

New cracks have appeared within the international coalition against ISIS, after Germany said it would move its troops – functioning as part of the coalition – to one of Iraq’s neighboring countries.

Germany unveiled the new plan after Iran attacked a US military base in Iran with rockets, in retaliation for the killing of the Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.

German Minister of Defense, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, told Germany’s Channel 1 that none of the German troops deployed in Iraq had been injured in the attack.

She added that her country had already moved some of the troops from Baghdad to a neighboring country.

The minister noted that her country had been working to prevent the scope of violence from widening by using all available channels.

She revealed that she agreed with the command of the international coalition against ISIS on the need for avoiding exposing troops functioning within the coalition to danger.

Kramp-Karrenbauer said her country is making plans to relocated German troops deployed in Erbil to another place.

Around 100 German are deployed in Kurdish areas in northern Iraq. They are part of the international coalition against ISIS.

Iran launched the attack on the US base in Iraq with ballistic missiles. The attack came in response to the killing of Soleimani, considered the second most important personality in Iran after the country’s supreme leader.

Iran claims to have killed 80 US troops in the attack. Nonetheless, the US denied this report and said none of its troops was injured.

Germany, Canada and the UK also said that none of their troops in the Kurdistan region was injured in Iranian attacks.

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper revealed that his country would redeploy its troops in the region.

The Iraqi parliament, which is controlled by a pro-Iran majority, has previously voted for kicking foreign troops out of Iraq.