UK troops needed in Iraq ‘for next few years’ to deter Isil, says Army chief

 British forces will need to remain in Iraq “for the next few years” in an attempt to keep the Isil menace at bay, a senior British commander has said.

Major General Felix Gedney told The Daily Telegraph that Britain must remain committed to Iraq to ensure “instability, hopelessness and desperation never again become the breeding ground for radicalisation”.

If people do not return to their communities and reconcile after the war “there’s a danger they turn back to Isil”, he said.

“The international community needs to meet its obligations to ensure the conditions that gave rise to extremism are eliminated.”

Britain has around 1,400 personnel in Iraq and Syria as part of a 71-nation Us-led Coalition to combat Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil), also known as Daesh.

Most are committed to Operation Shader, conducting air strikes in support of forces on the ground and giving intelligence and surveillance to Coalition operations – 550 train Iraqi security forces.

The Ministry of Defence said: “There will be no respite in UK operations against Daesh until we can guarantee their absolute defeat.”

In February, Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said: “We need to remain committed to these countries. I think we have made mistakes in the past where we have felt that we have dealt with the threat, and we have retreated too quickly from it.”

Maj Gen Gedney, deputy commander of strategy and support in the Combined Joint Task Force’s Operation Inherent Resolve, said liberating the ground alone would not signal the lasting defeat of Isil.

It must be secured by local security forces, and followed by the provision of power, water and education.

“Only when we have done that will we have provided enough hope for the people to look to their legitimate government rather than Isil for their best future,” he said.