In early April, Norwegian soldiers will go to northern Iraq, where they will conduct training of Kurdish soldiers in Erbil, said sources. 

This will be a major step in the fight against IS, the newspaper Nettavisen says.

Only details remains before they are ready to be sent.

Telemark Battalion is the primary source of international contributions from the Norwegian Army. The battalion has almost constantly been involved in the ISAF operation in Afghanistan since 2003.

Incidents in Afghanistan

Since the summer of 2009, there have been several instances of soldiers from the unit spray painting a Punisher skull (in part inspired by the character from comic books and movie – the Punisher) on houses and property belonging to Afghans whom soldiers suspected of having ties to the insurgency. The purported purpose was to "send a message" to leaders of the insurgency, that the Norwegian soldiers would not allow them to continue their offensive.

In September 2010, Verdens Gang reported that some soldiers were still using a Punisher skull that had been prohibited by the leadership of Norway's military.

The alleged crimes of threatening and spray painting the property of suspected insurgents did not lead to any criminal charges.

In 2010, Dagbladet published a video of company commander Rune Wenneberg leading a battle cry ("To Valhalla") by soldiers of the unit — his intro to the cry was "[inaudible] are hunters. But you are the predator. Taliban is the prey. To Valhalla!"