U.K. sends 40 engineers to Anbar airbase for reconstruction efforts
British troops
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Forty British engineers arrived to a military airbase in Anbar province on board of a British aeroplane to partake in reconstruction efforts, a source was quoted saying Thursday.
The engineers arrived at Ain al-Assad airbase in Anbar to rehabilitate damaged bridges, hospitals and schools as part of a broader reconstruction plan targeting damages from the war against Islamic State militants, according to a source who spoke to Almaalomah website.
The source added that other foreign countries involved in the reconstruction efforts might send their own engineers too.
Britain is a member of the United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.
On Saturday, British Secretary of Defense Michael Fallon announced that nearly 44 Royal Engineers were being sent to the Ain al-Assad air base. The new batch raises the number of British soldiers at the base to more than 300, and the total of British personnel in Iraq to 600.
The arrival coincides with preparations by Iraqi military leaderships to recapture Islamic State-held areas in western Anbar.
Iraq’s war against Islamic State militants since 2014 has dealt a serious damage to infrastructure. In May, the Iraqi government approved a ten-year scheme for the rehabilitation of areas liberated from IS worth USD100 billion, saying it would secure the finances depending on international loans and grants.