NATO is expected to announce soon a plan to advise the Iraqi government on reforming its security forces which are fighting an offensive by the so-called \’Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant\’ (ISIL) takfiri group.

NATO is expected to announce soon a plan to advise the Iraqi government on reforming its security forces which are fighting an offensive by the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group, NATO diplomats said on Tuesday.

US Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute said a plan under discussion at NATO could include advising Iraq on reforming its security sector and helping the government write a national security program.

NATO could also advise Iraq on logistics and on its military command structure, Lute told a news conference before a meeting of NATO defense ministers on Wednesday and Thursday.

"That program is not yet complete but it is nearly complete so I would say in the coming weeks we would expect an announcement that NATO has finalized with the government of Iraq this defense capacity-building program," he said.

NATO sources said the package could include some training of the Iraqi army in specialized fields, though this was likely to be for only a small number of officers rather than large numbers of troops.

Lute said it had not yet been decided if any training would be carried out inside Iraq or in another country.

The ISIL terrorist group launched a wide attack on the Iraqi northern province of Mosul in June 2013. It occupied the city and declared what it called "Caliphate."

The Iraqi army, joined by the Popular Mobilization Forces, launched a counter military campaign against ISIL in a bid to restore security to the seized territories.