1 of 1 An Iraqi student walks past a school wall covered with drawings showing how Islamic State militants executed their prisoners, in Mosul, Iraq Photo: Ari Jalal/Portal An Iraqi student walks past a school wall , which is covered with drawings showing how Islamic State militants executed their prisoners prisoners in Mosul, Iraq Photo: Ari Jalal/Portal
The Iraqi government is beginning the process of withdrawing the USled international military coalition from the country, the office of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia alSudani announced on Friday (5).
There is no fixed deadline yet, the Iraqi prime minister said: “The government sets the date for the start of the bilateral committee to take steps to permanently end the presence of international coalition troops in Iraq,” said a statement from the prime minister Office. Minister.
The U.S. has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq in a mission it says advises and supports local forces trying to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State, which captured swathes of both countries in 2014 before being defeated.
Sudani's statement came a day after a U.S. strike killed a militia leader in Baghdad, drawing the ire of Iranaligned groups that have called on the government to end the coalition's presence in Iraq.
“The government sets the date for the start of the bilateral committee to take steps to permanently end the presence of international coalition forces in Iraq,” said a statement from the Prime Minister's Office.
The committee would include representatives of the military coalition, a government official said.
The US military launched the attack on Thursday in retaliation for recent attacks on US personnel, the Pentagon said.
Militia groups in Iraq and Syria allied with Iran oppose Israel's campaign in the Gaza Strip and hold the United States partly responsible.
Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani has limited control over some Iranianbacked factions whose support he needed to come to power a year ago and which now form a powerful bloc in his ruling coalition.
“We emphasize our firm position to terminate the existence of the international coalition after the end of the justifications for its existence,” Sudani said in the statement.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for two explosions in Iran on Thursday that killed about 100 people and injured many more at a memorial to commander Qassem Soleimani.
A political adviser close to the Iraqi prime minister said Sudani was under enormous pressure from powerful Shiite parties close to Iran that want to end the U.S. presence in Iraq. His latest statement was aimed at “appeasing angry parties within the government’s Shiite coalition.” against the United States.”
But it was unclear whether Baghdad's announcement Friday was primarily for domestic political purposes or whether the newly appointed committee would actually begin an unstoppable process of ending the U.S. military presence in Iraq, a longstanding goal of Iran and other groups Iran supports.
Watch a 2018 video below about Iraq's first elections after the Islamic State's withdrawal.
The first elections since the defeat of the Islamic State are taking place in Iraq