NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance must step up its military training operations in Iraq, reports Tanjug.
Stoltenberg added that this must be done in order to ensure that members of the alliance do not return to the fight against the extremists of the so-called Islamic State.
"We have to have strong training, to do everything from the Ministry of Defense, institutions, command and control, to training forces. NATO can do that. We are already doing that, but we have to strengthen it," Stoltenberg told members of the European Parliament in Brussels.
In 2018, NATO approved military training in Iraq, which would involve about 500 soldiers, with the goal of building an Iraqi armed force that could better fight extremist groups like IS.
However, the operation was put on hold after US forces targeted Baghdad airport and killed an Iranian commander earlier this month, prompting the Iraqi government to demand that foreign troops leave the country.
According to Stoltenberg, the West left the territory a little too soon, which was used by IS to seize a large territory in northern Iraq and Syria.
"I strongly believe that if we don't do something, we may be forced to go back to fighting. We have to prevent that from happening again, which is why we have to build local security capacities to prevent IS from coming back. If we don't do that, we will certainly have big problems," Stoltenberg said.
Bonus video: