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The US and Iraq held their first round of talks on the future of US military presence in Iraq, with Baghdad discussing its expectations to lead to a timeline for reducing their presence, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as well as top-ranking officials from both the Iraqi armed forces and the US-led coalition met in the capital, Baghdad, on Saturday. The joint commission began "the commencement of the first round of bilateral dialogue between Iraq and the United States of America to end the coalition in Iraq," Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani said in a statement. "Military experts will oversee ending the military mission of the Global Coalition against Daesh (ISIL), a decade after its initiation and after the successful achievement of its mission in partnership with Iraqi security and military forces," it added. There are about 2,500 US troops deployed in Iraq currently, as part of the coalition that was formed in 2014 to help the Iraq government defeat ISIL, Al Jazeera reported. The US, in response, said that it aimed to set up a committee to negotiate the terms of the mission's end, which were first discussed last year. However, as Israel's war in Gaza intensifies, the US forces in Iraq and Syria are frequently attacked by Iran-allied groups, resulting in US retaliatory attacks and Iraq's complaints of US "aggression" against its territory. Since ISIL lost its hold on Iraq, officials have called for the withdrawal of coalition forces, especially after a US air strike in January 2020 killed Iranian top commander Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis outside Baghdad airport. Moreover, Iraq officials have complained that the US attacks violate its sovereignty, as reported by Al Jazeera. As part of the joint commission, Washington said on Thursday that it has agreed with Baghdad on the launch of "expert working groups of military and defence professionals." The three working groups would investigate "the level of threat posed by ISIS [ISIL], operational and environmental requirements, and strengthening 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 conversations as it goes forward." Whereas the US emphasised that the decision to discuss withdrawal from Iraq was decided upon before October 7, ISIL and Iraq took credit for the decision and said that it "proves that the Americans only understand the language of force" and promised to continue their attacks. (ANI)
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