The day after an American strike in Baghdad targeting the leader of a pro-Iranian faction, the Iraqi Prime Minister reiterated this Friday, January 5, his “firm” determination to put an end to the presence in the country of the international anti-Iranian coalition. -jihadists led by Washington.
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“ The justifications for its existence have ended », Estimates Mohamed Chia Al-Soudani about the multinational force present in Iraq since 2014 to fight against the Islamic State group. The statement was issued by the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office during a tribute to General Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards killed four years ago in Baghdad by an American drone.
The tone is rising, but this is not the first time that Mohamed Chia Al-Soudani, whose government is supported by parties close to Iran, has raised the issue in recent weeks, recalls our correspondent in Erbil, Marion Fontenille. A sign of Iraqi anger, he took a further step, this time announcing his will “ farm » to set up a “ dialogue “, which would be carried out through a ” bilateral committee ” in order to ” determine the terms of the end of this presence » foreign troops, he said, according to a press release from his services.
This statement from the Prime Minister comes the day afteran American attack killing a commander and another member of the al-Nujaba movement, which is part of the Hashd al-Shaabi coalition of pro-Iranian factions. The government denounced a “ assault » and in passing warns against the escalation of tensions since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
It remains to be observed in the facts, because if Baghdad declared its “ victory » military against ISIS at the end of 2017, cells still carry out sporadic attacks, particularly in the north of the country.