Seven members of the Croatian Army who had been relocated from Iraq to Kuwait returned to Croatia on Thursday morning, the Croatian Defence Ministry said.

The seven members of the second Croatian contingent were engaged in the NATO mission in Iraq and were transferred from Baghdad to Kuwait on Tuesday in line with a decision by NATO to relocate its mission from Iraq to Kuwait.

A total of fourteen members of the Croatian Army have been relocated to Kuwait, with seven of them completing their tour of duty.

The Croatian soldiers were relocated from Iraq, together with soldiers from several NATO member states, following Iranian attacks on American forces in Iraq in retaliation for a US drone attack and the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

During a government session on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic confirmed the successful evacuation of the Croatian troops out of Iraq.