German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that German troops will no longer offer peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan solely but counseling and education support for security forces in all countries.

Saying that the appeal came from the Iraqi government, Leyen said that the Iraqi authorities were asking German troops to help them in both Erbil and Baghdad. "We decided to create a joint working group to discuss all the details that need to be clarified," added Leyen.

150 soldiers from the German army have been training military basics in Peshmerga, which is affiliated to the Iraqi Kurdistan Administration in Erbil since 2014. The German army also supports by Tornado reconnaissance aircraft from Jordan to air attacks targeting DAESH targets in Syria and Iraq.

The training mission in Erbil, assessed as successful in Germany's coalition agreement between the Christian Union (CDU / CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), is expected to end in late April. According to the agreement, Germany's anti-DAESH mission in Iraq will be reshaped in order to achieve long-term stability of the country. 

ILKHA