Security situation in Iraq not so bad: top official

Iraqi Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassim Obeidi said here Wednesday that the security situation in his country was not as bad as it was often reported.

There was terrorist activity in only four of Iraq's 18 provinces, Obeidi said after meeting his German counterpart Franz Josef Jung at a Berlin military base.

Jung promised more German contribution to fighting violence in Iraq, adding Germany would train 350 Iraqi soldiers to vehicle maintenance this year and provide Iraq with 120 trucks and 30 ambulances.

A decision had not been made on whether to train them in Germany or in the United Arab Emirates, where the German armed forces have been training 350 Iraqi soldiers as army instructors, Jung said.

He said his country would take part in setting up a functional logistical network in Iraq and making better its health care system.

Source: Xinhua