Iraq and the United States held a “first round” of discussions on Saturday on the future of the international anti-jihadist coalition, with Baghdad hoping for a “gradual reduction” of foreign soldiers on its territory until “ending” their assignment.
The services of Mohamed Chia al-Soudani published a photo showing the head of government meeting with senior officers of the Iraqi security forces and soldiers from the coalition assembled in 2014 by Washington to fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.
The initiative comes in an explosive regional context. Since mid-October, more than 150 drone strikes or rocket attacks have targeted American and coalition soldiers in Iraq and Syria, a direct repercussion of the war in Gaza between Israel, Washington’s ally, and Hamas. Palestinian, supported by Tehran.
On Saturday evening, an “attack drone” again targeted the Ain al-Assad air base, where coalition troops are stationed in western Iraq, an American military official told AFP without being able to immediately assess potential damage or injuries. An Iraqi security official confirmed the attack.
Earlier, the Iraqi prime minister sponsored the “first round of bilateral dialogue between Iraq and the United States to end the international coalition mission in Iraq,” according to a statement from his office.
Washington had already confirmed the launch of “expert working groups”, as part of a “supreme military commission” whose creation was agreed with Baghdad this summer.
These three groups will study “the level of threat posed by ISIS”, “the operational imperatives” and finally “the strengthening of the capacities of the Iraqi security forces”, the Prime Minister’s services indicated on Saturday.
“Following this review, a specific timetable will be formulated to end the coalition military mission, and ensure a transition to bilateral security relations between Iraq, the United States, and partner countries of the coalition. coalition,” according to their press release.
Baghdad had already mentioned “a gradual reduction” in the number of coalition advisors.
“Future adjustments”
The coalition confirmed on Saturday the holding of these first discussions, in a cautious statement ensuring that the current process aims to “evaluate the progress of the coalition’s primary mission to defeat ISIS”, but also “discuss future adjustments to the mission and the coalition presence in Iraq. »
“The Supreme Military Commission will work to establish the conditions necessary for the transition of the mission in Iraq,” underlines the press release.
On Thursday, the deputy spokesperson for the US Department of Defense, Sabrina Singh, indicated that the size of the US military force in Iraq would “certainly be part of the discussions as things progress”.
Since mid-October, most of the attacks targeting the coalition have been claimed by the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq”, a network of fighters from pro-Iran armed groups. On Friday this group pledged to continue its strikes.
The United States deploys around 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and nearly 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the international coalition which also includes French, British and Spanish soldiers.