SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Iraqi leader again demands US-led coalition leave
Davos, Switzerland, Jan 18 (AFP) Jan 18, 2024
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani on Thursday repeated his call for the US-led international anti-jihadist coalition to depart his country amid soaring regional tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.

"The end of the international coalition mission is a necessity for the security and stability of Iraq," he said during a televised event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"It is also a necessity for preserving constructive bilateral relations between Iraq and the coalition countries."

Sudani, whose government relies on the support of Iran-aligned parties, has repeatedly said in recent weeks he would like to see foreign troops leave Iraq.

His remarks came after the United States carried out strikes on pro-Iran groups in response to attacks since mid-October on American and other coalition forces deployed in Iraq since 2014 in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.

At least 130 attacks, including 53 in Iraq and 77 in Syria, were recorded between October 17 and January 11, according to the Pentagon.

Most of the drone or rocket attacks targeting foreign troops have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups that oppose US support for Israel in the Gaza war.

A US drone strike in early January killed a military commander and another member of Harakat al-Nujaba, a faction of Hashed al-Shaabi.

The Hashed is a collection of mainly pro-Iranian former paramilitary units now integrated into the Iraqi armed forces.

In his remarks on Thursday, Sudani said it was also necessary to "immediately begin a dialogue, to reach an understanding and a timetable regarding the end of the mission of international advisers."

The United States has about 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and nearly 900 in Syria supporting the anti-IS coalition.

Since the end of 2021, the coalition in Iraq said it halted all combat mission and is stationed on Iraqi military bases purely in and advisory and training capacity.

Sudani said the coalition was no longer needed.

"Today, according to the analysis of all specialists in Iraq and among our friends, ISIS does not represent a threat to the Iraqi state," he said, using another acronym for IS.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
ICE-CSIC leads a pioneering study on the feasibility of asteroid mining
NASA JPL Unveils Rover Operations Center for Moon, Mars Missions

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Thorium plated steel points to smaller nuclear clocks
Solar ghost particles seen flipping carbon atoms in underground detector
Overview Energy debuts airborne power beaming milestone for space based solar power

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.