5th January, 2020
The Shiite dominated Iraqi parliament has voted to expel the U.S. military from the country. Lawmakers voted Sunday in favour of a resolution that calls for ending foreign military presence in the country.
There are 5,000 U.S. troops present in different parts of Iraq.
The vote comes two days after a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani inside Iraq, dramatically increasing regional tensions.
The Iraqi resolution specifically calls for ending an agreement in which Washington sent troops to Iraq more than four years ago to help in the fight against the Islamic State group.
The resolution was backed by most Shiite members of parliament, who hold a majority of seats.
Many Sunni and Kurdish legislators did not show up for the session, apparently because they oppose abolishing the deal.
Before the vote, Iraq’s prime minister urged parliament to take “urgent measures” to force the withdrawal of foreign forces following a U.S. drone strike that killed a senior Iranian commander and key Iraqi militia leader in Baghdad last week.
In an address to parliament, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi recommended that the government establish a timetable for the exit of foreign troops, including the members of the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State, “for the sake of our national sovereignty.”
“What happened was a political assassination,” Abdul Mahdi said of the U.S. strike that targeted Iran’s elite Quds Force commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, as he traveled in a convoy near the Baghdad airport.
He said that foreign troops were in Iraq to train its forces and help target remnants of the Islamic State “under the supervision and approval of the Iraqi government.”
“Iraq cannot accept this,” he said. “No foreign troops are allowed to conduct their own military actions inside Iraq.”
His statement followed an earlier announcement from the U.S.-led coalition saying it had paused its training mission in Iraq due to “repeated rocket attacks over the last two months” by the Iran-backed militia, Kataib Hezbollah.
It would now focus on protecting its bases from attack, the coalition said. NATO announced Saturday its own suspension of training programs.