Iraqi officers train in Jordan ahead of battle for Mosul

AMMAN — As the Iraqi army gears up to liberate Mosul from the terrorist group Daesh, First Lieutenant Samir Mansour hopes his training in Jordan on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) will help the advance.

Mansour, not his real name, is an explosives treatment expert from the city of Basra in southern Iraq who works at the Iraqi interior ministry.

The 30-year-old is one of scores of Iraqi officers who are being trained at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Centre (KASOTC) as part of a NATO-funded programme.  

He is part of a group receiving training on countering IEDS, but the programme also provides training in explosive ordnance disposal and demining, military medicine and medical assistance, security sector reform, civil-military planning support to operations and cyber defence among other areas. 

By the end of November, 350 Iraqi officers will have received training under the programme.

Like many others taking part in the training, Mansour said he wanted to improve his skills to defeat Daesh. 

"I am here to learn how effectively and swiftly we can defeat the terrorist Daesh group and remove all the booby-trapped devices they are leaving behind where they are defeated," he told The Jordan Times at the KASOTC in a recent interview.

Mansour said he had removed thousands of IEDs during military operations to free the city of Baiji in Anbar province and most recently Khalidiya town in the same province in August.

"I just came from the battlefield and I know what is awaiting us in Mosul is not an easy journey as Daesh is booby-trapping everything to obstruct our advance and prevent Iraqis from returning home," he said. 

"Daesh terrorists booby-trap dead bodies, cemeteries, houses, dolls, mosques… The most shocking thing that I never expected is for them to booby trap the holy Koran… I dealt with many booby-trapped copies of the Koran that they hid in houses. Those who claim to be Muslims exploit and insult Islam's holy book," said Mansour.

As many as 500,000 civilians were forced to flee Iraq's second largest city Mosul after Daesh took control of it in 2014.

Mansour hopes that he and his peers will help speed up the return of the displaced Iraqis.

“KASOTC is a world-renowned centre. This is the first time I receive training related to my work outside Iraq and I am hopeful it will help us make a difference in the battle against Daesh and enable our Iraqi brothers and sisters to return to their houses soon. I cannot wait to complete the training and head to Mosul for the real battle as our work is the key to help forces advance,” Mansour added.

Colonel Ahmad Kaiber, CEO of KASOTC, said the training provided to Iraqi forces serves the interests of both Jordan and Iraq.

“We are on the same boat. What affects Iraq, affects Jordan and we are keen to empower the Iraqi forces in their fight against the terrorists to rid us all from these groups,” Kaiber said during a visit to the centre to highlight training provided to Iraqis under the NATO programme.

For Jordan, training the Iraqi forces in various fields is a strategic intervention and part of the country’s efforts and war on terrorism, said retired Lieutenant Colonel Naser Arabiyat, a training development officer at KASOTC. “Our main goal is to enable the Iraqi forces to have a decisive win in the upcoming strategic battle of Mosul,” Arabiyat told The Jordan Times.

“When the Iraqis are strong, we are strong and safe. We are providing them with advanced training in various fields to retake Mosul and end Daesh once and for all… Many of those being trained at KASOTC have already been notified that they will be part of the battle in Mosul,” said Arabiyat.

Brigadier Khammas, Iraqi military attaché in Jordan, said the NATO training in the Kingdom is helping the Iraqi forces, which require even further advanced training.

“We are thankful for the training in Jordan. Our battle with Daesh is unconventional and the training Iraqi officers are receiving in Jordan is an added value in the battle,” Khammas told The Jordan Times.

“Those who finish training in Jordan will help train others in Iraq… but we still need more advanced training and we are looking forward to further KASOTC support in this regard in cooperation with NATO,” Khammas said, adding that there are two military camps in Iraq ready for the upcoming NATO training for Iraqi forces inside Iraq.

NATO will start training Iraqi forces inside Iraq in early 2017, but training for Iraqi forces will continue to be held in Jordan, a NATO official said during the tour.

NATO will also soon start deploying its airborne warning and control system aircraft to support the surveillance mission of the US-led international coalition against Daesh, he added.