Canada will send up to 20 police officers to Iraq to help local authorities establish a police presence in Mosul, which was recently liberated from the Islamic State group, the government announced Wednesday.

The officers are scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks, joining three Canadian police officers already on the ground.

They are expected to stay until March 2019.

"Progress has been made in Iraq with the liberation of Mosul, and Canada remains fully committed to supporting the Iraqi government and its people," Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said in a statement.

"Canada's policing contribution will be targeted at building key capacities of Iraqi security institutions and enhancing local policing skill sets, including in areas such as community policing," he said.

Most of the police infrastructure in the city, which took eight months of gruelling fighting to retake, was destroyed.

Nearly one million residents fled, but have started to return.

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Iraq faces vast challenges securing, rebuilding Mosul
Mosul, Iraq (AFP) Aug 3, 2017
With Mosul in ruins and nearly a million displaced, Iraq now faces the enormous task of restoring order and rebuilding its second city after driving out Islamic State group jihadists. After eight months of gruelling fighting against IS, Iraqi forces are in control of Mosul. But the famed Old City has been reduced to rubble and the iconic leaning minaret of its Al-Nuri mosque, the image o ... read more

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