The Iraqi government announced plans on Friday to begin the process of ousting the US-led international military coalition. The move comes a day after a US strike killed the commander of a pro-Iranian militia.
Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani's office said the “government sets the date for the start of the bilateral committee to reach agreements to permanently end the presence of international coalition forces in Iraq.”
Around 2,500 US soldiers are stationed in Iraq and another 900 in Syria to prevent a resurgence of the so-called Islamic State (IS).
Why did the US carry out an attack in Iraq?
Al-Sudani's decision comes at a time when parliamentary factions allied with Iran and on whose support the prime minister relies have reacted with anger to the killing of Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari in Baghdad on Thursday.
The Pentagon said he led a militant group that carried out and planned attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq.
The attack was a White House response to a recent wave of attacks, including mortar fire on the U.S. Embassy grounds last month.
The US described the incident as an act of self-defense, but the Iraqi government, in contrast, condemned the attack, calling it “blatant aggression.”
Blinken in Iraq: “We will protect our personnel”
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How “determined” is Iraq to withdraw US troops?
According to his office, Al-Sudani said he would begin a “dialogue” to “determine the procedure to end this presence.”
“We emphasize our firm position to terminate the existence of the international coalition after the justification for its existence has expired,” he was quoted as saying.
Power in the Shiite-majority country relies on the support of Shiite groups, many of which have ties to Iran. Al-Sudani depends on their votes to support his coalition.
The prime minister attended a memorial service for Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US strike in Baghdad in 2020.
A memorial service at Soleimani's grave in Kerman, Iran, was ended by two explosions that killed nearly 100 people on Wednesday – something ISIS has claimed ever since.
Iraq claimed to have defeated ISIS in 2017, but there are still groups of militants carrying out sporadic attacks.
It was not clear to what extent al-Sudani was acting up and, if not, how likely an attempt to withdraw U.S. forces would be to succeed.
from/sms (Portal, AFP)