Since 22 November 2009 the UK has maintained a small training force of around 150 British military personnel in Iraq.
The majority of these forces (around 100) are based at the main Iraqi naval base in the southern port of Umm Qasr. These are mostly Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel, and they are working alongside US colleagues to train and mentor the Iraqi Navy.
They are there at the request of the Iraqi Government under our bilateral training and maritime support agreement which came into effect in November 2009.
This agreement also allows for the presence of Royal Navy ships in Iraqi territorial waters in order to ensure the security of Iraq's offshore oil pipelines and platforms.
UK forces are also contributing to the NATO Training Mission in Iraq (known as NTM-I) under a separate Agreement between NATO and the Government of Iraq.
There are currently around 40 UK military - mostly Army - personnel based at the military academy in Baghdad undertaking this role alongside other NATO partners. Their role is to train and educate Iraqi military officers.
The remaining UK military personnel are assigned to the Defence Attaché, based in the Defence Section of the British Embassy in Baghdad.
