NATO defence ministers are set to expand the military alliance’s training mission in Iraq once the coronavirus pandemic eases, senior officials and diplomats said, potentially cementing a broader role for the Atlantic alliance in the Middle East.

Ministers are set to agree plans on Thursday during a video conference, potentially taking the mission from its current maximum of some 500 troops to around 4,000 or 5,000, four diplomats said.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday he expected defence ministers to agree to an expanded mission, with more allied personnel working in more security institutions across Iraq.

-The mission will expand gradually, in response to the situation- he said.

NATO has had a non-combat, “train-and-advise” mission in Baghdad since October 2018 but plans to expand it were delayed, in part, by COVID-19 and also due to concerns about regional stability after a U.S. drone killed a top Iranian commander in Baghdad on Jan. 3. 2020.

Earlier expansion plans were mainly in response to a demand by then-U.S. President Donald Trump for NATO to do more in the Middle East. This time, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, a former intelligence chief and U.S. ally who took office in May, is eager to have a greater NATO presence in the country at a time of rising insecurity, diplomats said.

A rocket attack on U.S.-led forces in northern Iraq killed a civilian contractor on Monday and injured a U.S. service member, in the deadliest such incident in almost a year.

Paramilitary groups aligned with Iran in Iraq and Yemen have launched attacks against the United States and its Arab allies in recent weeks, including a drone attack on a Saudi airport and a rocket attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

NATO will likely take over some of the training activities carried out by the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. The allied mission, involving allies including Britain, Turkey and Denmark and led by a Danish commander, is seen as more acceptable to Iraqis than a U.S. training force, diplomats said.

Currently, the NATO mission only trains and advises members of the Iraqi security institutions and forces who are under the direct control of the Iraqi government.