NATO

NATO has played a key role in the fight against international terrorism for many years, including through its presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, intelligence-sharing, and work to strengthen partners around the world.

At the Warsaw Summit in 2016, Allied leaders decided to provide direct support to the Global Coalition with NATO AWACS surveillance aircraft. The Alliance also decided to launch training and capacity-building for Iraqi forces in Jordan and Iraq.

In 2017, Allied leaders agreed a new action plan to fight terrorism, which includes NATO’s membership in the Coalition, as well as more AWACS flight-time and information sharing.

At the Brussels Summit in 2018, Allies decided to establish a training mission in Iraq, in order to strengthen Iraqi forces and prevent the resurgence of ISIS.

In 2020, Allies agreed to expand the mission, as requested by the Iraqi government. NATO will continue to consult with the Global Coalition and the Iraqi authorities on the way ahead.

“NATO will continue to fight terrorism, we will continue to fight ISIS/Daesh and we will do that in many different ways. Of course, our presence in Afghanistan is about fighting terrorism, and we are now stepping up in Iraq... to provide more support."

"The best weapon we have is to train local forces... NATO as an Alliance, a platform where we support, train, assist and advise security forces in countries like Iraq or Afghanistan, are key tools in the fight against international terrorism."

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, 30 November 2020