SINGAPORE - Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen will be in Iraq for a surprise visit to Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) troops who are supporting the multinational coalition to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

SAF medical teams have been deployed to Iraq since June this year.

They work closely alongside teams from the Australian Defence Force and the New Zealand Defence Force to provide healthcare support to coalition efforts to counter the extremist threat posed by the terror group.

Dr Ng's visit to Iraq was announced by Singapore's Ministry of Defence (Mindef) in a statement on Tuesday (Sept 26).

The SAF has deployed planners, liaison officers, intelligence fusion officers, imagery analysis teams, and Republic of Singapore Air Force KC-135R tanker aircraft in the region since Singapore announced in November 2014 that it was supporting coalition efforts against ISIS.

Dr Ng is accompanied by Senior Minister of State for Defence Maliki Osman, Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Perry Lim, Deputy Secretary (Policy) Keith Tan, and senior SAF officers.

As part of this trip, Dr Ng will also visit Jordan and call on King Abdullah II, as well as Prime Minister and Defence Minister Hani Fawzi Al-Mulki.

Dr Ng's visit to Iraq comes as Singapore leaders have noted that the terror threat is at its highest in years. On Sunday, ISIS' media arm released its first propaganda video featuring a Singaporean fighter, Megan Shahdan Abdul Samad.