Written statement on Iraq- Update

As part of the next phase of the Coalition plan to defeat Daesh, the Coalition asked the UK to provide additional support in constructing supplementary accommodation and office space at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq to enable operations in the Euphrates River Valley. A team of Royal Engineers Infrastructure specialists has therefore deployed for a period of around five months, to undertake this vital work. The soldiers had been held at readiness in the UK for such a task. These troops will remain inside the secure air base. This deployment will temporarily raise the number of UK troops based in Iraq as part of Operation SHADER to just over 600.