Germany plans to close its military field camp near Erbil airport in northern Iraq by the end of September and withdraw most of its troops.
According to a report by the weekly magazine Der Spiegel, the Defense Ministry informed parliament of the decision to close the camp. The base has faced repeated threats in recent months, as tensions escalated following US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
The report said that although German forces were not directly targeted by Iranian missile and drone attacks, their proximity to US units forced soldiers to spend many nights in bunkers.
Defense Ministry spokeswoman Christiane Noack confirmed that the ministry had informed the relevant parliamentary committees, but declined to provide further details on the timeline or other aspects of the withdrawal, citing the security of the deployed troops.
"This will be a matter of detailed planning, it is not a matter of a hasty withdrawal," Noack said at a press conference in Berlin.
