The German military intends to evacuate its field camp in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, which has been subjected to repeated attacks.
A spokeswoman for the Defence Ministry in Berlin confirmed on Friday the accuracy of a report published by Der Spiegel magazine about the German parliament being informed of the move.
The spokeswoman said the German military intends to "reduce its footprint" — meaning a reduction in the size of its presence in the region. She added that Germany will continue to contribute to the training of Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
The spokeswoman clarified that "a team of military advisers will remain at the embassy" to continue this mission, but declined, for security reasons, to disclose the number of soldiers currently stationed in Erbil or how many will remain there in the future.
German soldiers deployed in northern Iraq are part of Germany's contribution to Operation Inherent Resolve, which is set to end in September pursuant to a decision by the Iraqi government. The military advisers may form part of a potential new initiative to build military capabilities.
Der Spiegel reported that the government justified its withdrawal decision to members of parliament on the grounds that the United States will be pulling its forces from the multinational camp in Erbil and will therefore no longer provide protection for the German camp, including through American air defence systems.
According to information obtained by the German news agency (dpa), the German section of the camp had been temporarily evacuated in recent times due to security threats, but was subsequently put back into use. The Defence Ministry informed parliament of its plans regarding Erbil on Friday morning, and the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold a special session to discuss the matter later in the day.
The military camp is located on the outskirts of Erbil airport and has been subjected to missile and drone attacks since the start of American and Israeli military strikes on Iran last spring — attacks attributed to Iranian retaliatory operations, though they were not directly targeting German forces.