NATO has withdrawn all of its troops from an advisory mission in Iraq, the military alliance said on Friday, as the repercussions of the Iran war spread across the Middle East.
“I would like to thank the Republic of Iraq and all the Allies who assisted in the safe relocation of NATO personnel from Iraq,” U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said in a statement. The statement said the mission had relocated “all its personnel” from the Middle East to Europe. A NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that amounted to “several hundred” troops. In recent days, several countries, including Poland, Spain, and Croatia, have announced they have withdrawn troops from the Middle East, citing the conflict in Iran and the wider Gulf region.