NATO announced the full evacuation of its military mission in Iraq on Friday, March 20, withdrawing all personnel to European territory amid security concerns, as Germany and Poland simultaneously pulled their troops from the country.

Allison Hartre, a NATO spokesperson, stated that the organization was working in close coordination with allies and partners, and that the safety of personnel remained the top priority, adding that no further details would be disclosed at that time.

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“NATO Mission Iraq will continue from Joint Force Command Naples. NMI is a non-combat advisory and capability-building mission to assist Iraq in building more sustainable, transparent, inclusive and effective security institutions and forces, so that they themselves are able to stabilise their country, fight terrorism, and prevent the return of ISIS/Daesh,” read NATO’s press release.

The NATO Mission in Iraq (NMI) was announced at the alliance’s summit in Brussels in July 2018 and was officially established that October at the request of the Iraqi government, according to local media reports.

At its inception, the mission stated its objective was to strengthen Iraq’s defense structures through training, advising and counterterrorism efforts. Critics, however, have pointed to the alliance’s track record in other countries where it has intervened.

The withdrawals by Germany, Poland and NATO come amid escalating hostilities involving the United States and Israel against Iran.

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