BAGHDAD: According to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s office, the Iraqi government is organizing a committee to plan the withdrawal of the US-led international coalition’s mission in the country.
Sudani’s statement came a day after a US strike in Baghdad killed a militia leader, inciting outrage among Iran-aligned groups who urged that the government halt the coalition’s presence in Iraq.
“The government is setting the date for the start of the bilateral committee to put arrangements in place to end the presence of international coalition forces in Iraq permanently,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
According to a government official, the group would include officials from the military coalition.
The US military launched the operation on Thursday in retribution for recent attacks on US soldiers, according to the Pentagon.
The US has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq on a mission to advise and support local forces attempting to avoid a revival of the Islamic State, which captured major sections of both countries before being crushed in 2014.
Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria oppose Israel’s Gaza campaign and deem the US partially responsible.
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Sudani has limited influence over the Iran-backed factions that helped him win power a year ago and now form a major bloc in his ruling coalition.
“We emphasize our firm position on ending the international coalition’s existence once the justifications for its existence have expired,” Sudani was quoted as saying in the statement.
On Thursday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for two bombings in Iran that killed almost 100 people and injured dozens more at a commemoration for top commander Qassem Soleimani.
