Currently, about 2,500 US troops remain deployed in Iraq as part of the coalition that formed in 2014.
The United States and Iraq have held a first round of talks on the future of American and other foreign troops in the country, and Baghdad hopes the discussions will lead to a timetable for reducing its presence.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, as well as senior officials from both the Iraqi armed forces and the US-led coalition, met in Baghdad on Saturday.
The joint commission initiated “the start of the first round of bilateral dialogue between Iraq and the United States of America to end the Coalition in Iraq,” Al-Sudani said in a statement.
“Military experts will supervise the end of the military mission of the Global Coalition against Daesh [ISIL]a decade after its inception and after the successful achievement of its mission in partnership with the Iraqi military and security forces,” he added.
Currently, there are still around 2,500 US troops deployed in Iraq as part of the coalition that formed in 2014.
The United States says its goals of creating a committee to negotiate the terms of ending the mission were first discussed last year.
But as Israel's war on Gaza intensifies, U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have faced frequent attacks from groups allied with Iran, resulting in U.S. retaliatory strikes and Iraqi complaints of U.S. “aggression” against their territory. .
Since ISIL lost its control in Iraq, officials have called for the withdrawal of coalition forces, especially after a US airstrike in January 2020 killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi. al-Muhandis outside Baghdad airport.
Iraqi officials have complained that the US strikes violate their sovereignty.
On Thursday, Washington said it had agreed with Baghdad to launch “working groups of military experts and defense professionals” as part of the joint commission.
The three working groups would investigate “the level of threat posed by ISIS [ISIL]operational and environmental requirements, and strengthen the growing capabilities of the Iraqi security forces,” al-Sudani's office said.
US Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrin Singh also acknowledged that the US military footprint in the Arab country “will certainly be part of the talks as they move forward.”
While the United States has said the decision to discuss withdrawing from Iraq was made before Oct. 7, ISIL in Iraq took credit for the decision, saying in a statement that it “demonstrates that Americans only understand the language of strength” and promised to continue. their attacks.
