Iraq parliament tells govt to set timetable for foreign troops pull-out
U.S. army forces participate in combat training in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, December 22, 2016. Picture taken December 22, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq’s parliament has urged the government to set a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, two months after the government declared victory over Islamic State militants.
The parliament voted on Thursday for a decision to oblige the government to set a schedule for the withdrawal of foreign troops, NRT reported.
Saad al-Hadithi, a spokesperson of the Iraqi Cabinet, said last month it was logical that the coalition would reduce the number of its troops in Iraq after victory was declared over Islamic State militants in December.
Also in February, Saeed al-Jayyashi, an adviser to the Iraqi government, told Shafaq News website that a security committee will observe the regulation of the activities of the U.S.-led international coalition.
The U.S.-led coalition intervened in Iraq after IS miliants declared in 2014 the establishment of a self-proclaimed “caliphate” rule in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
But a spokesman of the Pentagon was quoted saying after the Iraqi announcement that U.S. troops were only shifting mission from combat to training, without plans for a sharp drawdown of troops.
The Pentagon had said in December it was keeping nearly 5000 troops in Iraq.