Germany pulls troops from northern Iraq amid rising Middle East tensions
Germany says the troop redeployment is "closely coordinated with our multinational partners" and comes as US President Trump is threatening military action against Iran.
Germany's military has "temporarily" moved some troops out of Erbil in northern Iraq because of "escalating tensions in the Middle East", a German defence ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
Dozens of German soldiers had been relocated away from the base in Erbil in the country's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).
"Only the personnel necessary to maintain the operational capability of the camp in Erbil remain on site," the spokesman said.
The spokesman did not specify the source of the tensions, but US President Donald Trump has ordered a major build-up of US warships, aircraft and other weaponry in the region and threatened action against Iran.
German troops are deployed to Erbil as part of an international mission to train local Iraqi forces.
The spokesman said the German redeployment away from Erbil was "closely coordinated with our multinational partners".
German forces in Iraq operate in support of the NATO Mission Iraq (NMI), a non-combat advisory mission.