Iraqi PM vows to end US-led coalition’s presence after strikes kill militia leaders

Baghdad, Jan 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani reiterated his pledge on Friday to end the presence of the US-led coalition in Iraq after a series of US strikes killed Iraqi security personnel and militia leaders.

Al-Sudani said his government would soon start talks with the coalition through a committee to arrange the withdrawal of foreign troops, a move he said was "a commitment that the government will not back down from".

He was speaking at a memorial ceremony in Baghdad to mark the fourth anniversary of the US killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a drone strike near Baghdad airport, Xinhua news agency reported.

Al-Sudani accused the coalition of repeating the "crime" of killing Soleimani and al-Muhandis by attacking the headquarters of the state-backed Hashd Shaabi paramilitary forces on Thursday, killing the leader of one of its brigades and two others.

"The Hashd Shaabi forces are official forces affiliated with the state and an integral part of the armed forces," the Prime Minister said, adding that the US strike "goes beyond the spirit of the mandate that formed the (anti-Islamic State) international coalition".

Al-Sudani has repeatedly said in recent weeks that he would like to see the US-led coalition leave Iraq.

The US Department of Defense said it carried out a "self-defence" strike in Iraq that killed a leader of the Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba group, which is part of the Hashd Shaabi and also operates in Syria.

Source: IANS