US-led coalition to withdraw from Iraq after 10 years, says PM | the world

The Iraqi government has begun the process of withdrawing the US-led international military coalition from the country, the office of Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said on Friday (5).

No deadline has yet been set, the Iraqi prime minister said: “The government has set a date for the start of a bilateral committee to take steps to permanently end the presence of international coalition forces in Iraq,” the prime minister's statement said. Office. Minister.

The US has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq.

Sudan's statement came a day after a US strike in Baghdad killed a militant group leader, drawing the ire of Iran-aligned groups demanding the government end the coalition's presence in Iraq.

“The government has set a date for the launch of a bilateral committee to take steps to permanently end the presence of international coalition forces in Iraq,” a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.

A government official said the committee will include representatives of the military alliance.

The Pentagon said the US military carried out the strike on Thursday in retaliation for recent attacks on US personnel.

Militant groups aligned with Iran in Iraq and Syria oppose Israel's campaign in the Gaza Strip and hold the United States partly responsible.

Iraqi Prime Minister Sudan has limited control over some Iranian-backed factions, whose support he needed to win power a year ago and now forms a powerful coalition within his ruling coalition.

“We emphasize our firm position to end the existence of the international coalition after the justifications for its existence are exhausted,” Sudani said in the statement.

Islamic State claimed responsibility Thursday for two blasts at a memorial to Commander Qasem Soleimani in Iran that killed around 100 people and wounded many others.

A political adviser close to the Iraqi prime minister said Sudan was under heavy pressure from powerful Shiite parties close to Iran who want to end the US presence in Iraq, and that his latest statement was “aimed at placating angry parties in the government's Shiite coalition”. Against America”.

However, it remains unclear whether Baghdad's announcement on Friday was primarily driven by domestic political motives or whether the newly announced group would actually set up the inevitable process of ending the US military presence in Iraq, a long-held goal of Iran and the groups. Iran supports.

Watch a 2018 video below about Iraq's first elections since the fall of the Islamic State.