A statement from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani announced today, Friday, that the government is forming a joint committee to determine arrangements for ending the U.S.-led international coalition mission in the country. The statement said: "We are in the process of setting a date to begin discussions through the joint committee formed to determine the arrangements for this presence's conclusion. This is a commitment that the government will not back away from, and it will not compromise on anything that concerns the completion of national sovereignty over Iraq's land, sky, and waters."
This announcement comes one day after the killing of a leader of an armed group in Baghdad. The U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) stated: "The U.S. military carried out the strike yesterday, Thursday, in response to recent attacks against American soldiers." The United States has 900 soldiers in Syria and 2,500 soldiers in Iraq, in a mission that it claims aims to provide advice and assistance to local forces trying to prevent the return of the Islamic State, which seized large areas of both countries in 2014. Iran-aligned factions in Iraq and Syria oppose the Israeli campaign in Gaza and partially hold the United States responsible.
