Belgium Sending 35 Military Trainers to Iraq

Belgium is to send around 35 soldiers to Iraq to help train the Iraqi army in the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group, the government said Friday.

They will leave on Saturday and be based there for six months in a "secure location", it said in a statement, without giving further details.

The troops will have no combat role and will focus on "training and advice," a spokesman for Defense Minister Steven Vandeput said.

Belgium has been a member of the international coalition against IS since September, sending six F-16 jets and 120 personnel to join airstrikes, from a base in Jordan.