NATO boosts Iraq mission with thousands of personnel

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance is scaling up its mission to train the security forces in Iraq with thousands of new personnel. He says NATO wants to help Iraq defeat the Islamic State group. Speaking after chairing a meeting of defense ministers Thursday, he said “the size of our mission will increase from 500 personnel to around 4,000.”  He says the mission will also be working outside the capital Baghdad but that this will only be done in close consultation with the Iraqi government. The mission was launched in 2018, but was temporarily suspended last year after a U.S. drone strike killed Iran’s top general at Baghdad airport, angering the Iraqi government.