RIGA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Latvian lawmakers on Thursday decided to extend the country's participation in the multinational military operation against Islamic State (IS) terrorists in Iraq, the parliamentary press service reported.

Latvia joined the multinational counterterrorism coalition in January 2016 and sent soldiers to train Iraqi forces to fight IS terrorists. The Latvian soldiers' current mandate in the operation ends on Feb. 1, 2020.

When the security situation in the Gulf region escalated at the beginning of January this year and the Global Coalition against IS in Iraq paused its training activities, the Latvian soldiers were moved to Kuwait.

Latvia also said at the time that it would permanently withdraw its soldiers from Iraq if the Iraqi government officially asked them to leave, but no such demand has been made so far.

At Thursday's parliament meeting, Latvian lawmakers agreed on the necessity to keep contributing to international security, ensuring Latvia's participation in developing and strengthening Iraq's security forces, as well as supporting allied efforts to stop the attacks of IS terrorists and the expansion their influence. Enditem

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