A fourth-degree alert applies to Iraq, urging all Slovaks to depart the country immediately save those located in Kurdistan, with the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry poised to carry out security measures in order to ensure safety and security of the staff of Slovak Embassy to Baghdad.
This was stated by the ministry spokesman Boris Gandel on Tuesday. An emergency session was thus held on Monday, June 16. “We're realising our steps in co-ordination and co-operation with our allies”, claimed Gandel, adding that the ministry will closely monitor and evaluate the developing situation. In the wake of the Sunni Islamist organisation Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants taking over a number of Iraqi cities in the northern regions, the US Army bolstered security in the vicinity of US diplomatic facilities in Baghdad. On Monday, American President Barack Obama announced to the Congress that the US is sending 275 troopers to Iraq with an eye towards ensuring safety and security of US citizens and its Embassy personnel. US State Secretary John Kerry claimed that America is considering the use of airstrikes in order to assist the Iraqi Government in countering the Islamist uprising in the country.
