PM will send troops to train Iraqi forces

New Zealand will send a small number of troops to Iraq to help train local forces in their battle against the Islamic State group, Prime Minister John Key announced on Tuesday.

Key told lawmakers the country would deploy up to 143 military personnel, who would be based "behind the wire" and would train Iraqi security forces rather than being actively involved in combat missions.

Key and his government made the decision without putting it to a parliamentary vote, a contentious move which some say was prompted because the government didn't have the support it needed to win such a vote.