The German Cabinet has agreed to send up to 100 troops to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil to train Kurdish forces for their fight against the Islamic State group.
Parliament is to debate the mission in January but since the government has a large parliamentary majority the mission is expected to be approved.
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters today that "we have to make sure the front line against (the Islamic State group) is held."
Germany has already provided weapons and other military gear worth 70 million euros (USD 87.8 million) to aid Iraq's Kurdish peshmerga fighters.
Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Germany had "good experiences with the peshmerga. They are reliable and motivated, but they need good equipment and good training.
