On 21 November, Dr. Markus Ritter, the Head of Mission of EUAM Iraq made a field visit to Salahuddin Province to introduce the Mission and its activities to Salahuddin officials to explore possible partnership opportunities.

The first meeting was with the Deputy Governor. In the same meeting the Chief of Salahuddin Police and Chief of Federal Intelligence and Investigation Agency were also present.

The Deputy Governor mentioned that Salahuddin is a province that is still recovering from the Da’esh aftermath since many of its security sector infrastructures have been destroyed. He also stated that despite the current civil unrest in the country, Salahuddin has witnessed no demonstrations.

After the meeting with the EUAM’s counterparts in Tikrit, Dr. Ritter proceeded to see an important memorial site from the Da’esh period, where Da’esh conducted their first massacre (Speicher), killing 1700 Iraqi military recruits. During that site visit, he met and discussed the current security situation with the Deputy Head of Community Policing in Salahuddin.

Thereafter, the EUAM delegation was escorted by the Diplomatic Police down to Samarra to see the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Great Mosque of Samarra (for a time, the largest mosque in the world) with its famous minaret, the Malwiya Tower. At the site, the EUAM delegation were given the opportunity to climb up the minaret to view the now mostly derelict Mosque site from the 53-meter-high vantage point.