NATO said Tuesday it would take "some personnel" out of Iraq because of the increased danger there after the US killing of an Iranian general triggered revenge threats.

The withdrawal is temporary but "the safety of our personnel is paramount", a NATO official said in a statement. US and allied foreign troops in Iraq are concerned they might be targeted by Iran or allied Iraqi militias in retaliation for Friday's killing in Baghdad of Revolutionary Guards General Qasem Soleimani, who commanded Iran's operations across the Middle East.

NATO announced on Saturday that it had suspended its training mission in Iraq, which fields 500 instructors.

The NATO official said other mission personnel were being moved to other parts of Iraq, and emphasised that "NATO maintains a presence".

The alliance plans to resume its training there "when the situation permits".

He declined to give details on how many personnel were being moved or to where.

"The temporary repositioning of some personnel" was "to different locations both inside and outside of Iraq.

"To protect the safety of our personnel on the ground, we cannot go into operational details," he added.

Romania's defence ministry said separately that its 14 soldiers taking part in the NATO deployment "will be temporarily relocated to another coalition base".

Hungary's defence minister Tibor Benko said Hungarian soldiers in Iraq were ready for evacuation "if necessary", the official MTI agency reported.