In his first visit to Iraq, Cravinho will go to the military base "Grã Capitan", in the training camp of Besmayah, about 50km from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, to visit the 30 Portuguese troops, including three women, under commander Major André Barros.

Portugal is the 9th national contingent in the "Inherent Resolution" operation, an international coalition led by the United States against the extremist group Islamic State.

The coalition, established in 2014 with around 80 members, has part of its mission to build up the capacity of Iraqi forces, through training, equipment and advice.

The government of Iraq announced on 9 December, 2017 the end of the three-year war to defeat the 'jihadist' Islamic State, which came to dominate one-third of the country and questioned the existence of the Iraqi State itself.

The jihadists, who launched an offensive in Syria and Iraq in the summer of 2014, were defeated with the help of the international military coalition.

Tension in the Middle East has been rising over the past year, following the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the nuclear agreement between the major powers and Iran.