New Zealand troops to train for Iraq deployment

New Zealand Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee Tuesday said that the country's troops are scheduled to begin training for a possible deployment to Iraq as part of the anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition.

The cabinet agreed in November last year to use 10 military planners to determine whether New Zealand could play a role in helping the Iraqi security forces to fight the IS, and they were still assessing the possible nature and location of such a mission, he said.

"They are doing their own reconnaissance as well as working alongside the Australian Defence Force," Xinhua quoted Brownlee as saying.

"While the team's work is not complete, I have accepted the chief of defence force's request to begin specific training for a possible building partner capacity role in Iraq," he added.

Contingency training would include force protection, cultural awareness and skills relevant to a possible deployment.

"Should there be a deployment, our first objective must be to keep our personnel as safe as possible," Brownlee said.

Last week, visiting British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond asked New Zealand to join an international coalition to fight IS insurgents with the US and Australia.