Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen to visit SAF forces in Iraq

SINGAPORE — Defence Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen is leading a delegation to visit the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops deployed to Iraq in support of the multinational coalition to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (IS), the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 26).

Dr Ng had previously announced in November 2014 that the SAF will be supporting the coalition efforts against the extremist threats posed by ISIS.

Mindef said that since the announcement, the SAF has deployed planners, liaison officers, intelligence fusion officers, imagery analysis teams, and Republic of Singapore Air Force KC-135R tanker aircraft for use against the IS.

Medical teams from the SAF have also been deployed to Iraq to provide healthcare support to coalition forces contributing to counter IS efforts in Iraq, with the SAF medical teams working closely alongside teams from the Australian Defence Force and the New Zealand Force.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday evening, Dr Ng posted an image of himself on board a C-130 airplane with the caption: “On the way with Senior Minister of State Dr Maliki Osman to visit SAF and coalition troops in Iraq. On board our own C-130.”

Dr Ng and Dr Maliki are being accompanied by Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Perry Lim, Deputy Secretary Keith Tan, and other senior SAF Officers.

As part of the trip, Dr Ng will also visit Jordan and call on the King of Jordan, His Majesty Abdullah II Bin Hussein, as well as Prime Minister and Defence Minister Hani Fawzi Al-Mulki.