Czech military to up engagement in fight against terrorism

The Czech Republic will step up its engagement in the fight against international terrorism, Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky told Czech Television. He said that in the summer the Czech Republic would send 15 officers to Bagdad, Iraq to help with training of the local police force and that the number of Czech soldiers in Iraq was likely to increase by 150. At present the Czech military has 47 soldiers in the country. NATO agreed to take a more active role in the fight against IS at a summit in Brussels last week. NATO countries do not want the alliance engaged in active combat against Islamic State militants, even though all are individual members of the anti-IS coalition. The role of the alliance could include training local forces and helping to build militaries and institutions.