Georgia to Double Troops in Iraq

Georgia will increase number of its troops, stationed in Iraq as a part of the coalition forces, from current 159 to 300 in October, Georgian Defense Minister Giorgi Baramidze told reporters upon his arrival from Iraq late on September 7.

Giorgi Baramidze also said that he discussed the issue with the U.S. army officials during the visit to Iraq on September 5-7.

He inspected 159 soldiers and officers from the 16th Sachkhere Mountain Battalion, which replaced 70 Georgian troops in Iraq in April.

The 16th Sachkhere Mountain Battalion was trained under US-funded Train-and-Equip (GTEP) program.

Currently, 50 soldiers and officers of the 16th Mountain Battalion are on training in Germany and are to be dispatched to Afghanistan by mid-September as a part of the German force.