(VOVworld) - Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi said Tuesday that the Iraqi military has started rebuilding after its near total collapse last summer.

Soldiers take part in a parade during a ceremony marking the Iraqi Army Day celebration in Baghdad January 6, 2015. (Photo:Reuters)

Speaking in a televised address on a national holiday commemorating the 94th anniversary of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Obeidi said the rebuilding is still in its initial phase of replacing some military leaders, the first step towards building a strong army. He added that changes will be made in the entire military pyramid down to the lowest soldier. Earlier, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told Obeidi to lead a probe into corruption within the Iraqi military after the Islamic State (IS) seized vast tracts of territory from Iraqi security forces last summer.

In another development, US troops have started training Iraqi military forces for the fight against the IS, said Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. The first six-week training course for four battalions of Iraqi security forces will take place at a military base in Taji in northern Baghdad. The US will train 5,000 Iraqi soldiers. The US has about 1,800 military personnel in Iraq and will double the number in the next several weeks.