Iraq – OIR/NMI

The multinational military mission in Iraq and Syria operates under a coalition led by the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida. The coalition’s military plan for Iraq initially aims to halt ISIS advances by training and mentoring Iraqi defence forces, with the ultimate goal of defeating ISIS.

The military plan is part of a broader strategy that includes other crisis management tools, such as diplomacy and humanitarian measures.

Sweden’s contribution currently consists of one staff position in Iraq and two in Kuwait. Sweden also contributes to NMI (NATO Mission Iraq), whose tasks include training and educating Iraqi defence forces; Sweden provides one staff officer for this mission.

Previous phases of the mission

Until 2018, the Swedish contingent was based in northern Iraq, with advisory and training duties for Iraqi defense forces as the main task. From 2019, the Swedish contribution has operated at Camp Taji in Baghdad, in cooperation with the United Kingdom, and consisted of 55 personnel. The mission was expanded to include protection and security duties.

The mission has been heavily affected by both the COVID-19 pandemic and the security situation stemming from the tense relations between the U.S. and Iran, where Iran-aligned Shiite militias have carried out repeated rocket attacks against coalition bases. In May 2019 and January 2020, the Swedish Armed Forces temporarily suspended the training mission in Iraq due to the security situation.

Since the summer of 2020, Sweden has staffed only a few command and advisory positions.

Internationally, planning is ongoing for the OIR coalition to reduce its mission, while NATO’s mission in Iraq (NMI) is planning to expand.