A 30-member Ground Self-Defense Force advance team left Friday from Narita airport bound for Iraq, marking the first time Japan has sent troops to a nation experiencing conflict since World War II.

The GSDF team will lay the groundwork for the deployment of the main GSDF contingent, expected to number 550 troops, which will engage in water supply and medical relief activities.

The advance team, which left aboard a commercial jet, will gather intelligence on the local security situation and arrange to set up a base in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah.