Iraqi PM calls for ending the presence of foreign troops in country

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Interim Iraqi Prime Minister stressed that the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq or the development of a timetable for implementing the move would be two options facing the country.

The extraordinary session of the Iraqi parliament to approve the law on the expulsion of US troops, which was delayed until Sunday afternoon due to the fact that representatives of the Kurdish and Sunni factions were in contention, has finally convened by the opposition's presence in the parliament.

Speaking at the meeting, Adil Abdul Mahdi highlighted that the choice of ending foreign troops in Iraq is the most logically viable option for Iraq.

The presence of US troops in Iraq is only limited to fighting ISIS and training Iraqi troops and does not include any other mission, the interim prime minister said.

Abdul Mahdi reiterated that parliament must understand the situation and explain to the Iraqi people that any internal conflict will have a political and economic cost to the country.

As prime minister and commander of the armed forces, I want the end of the existence of foreign forces in Iraq, he said.

Abdul Mahdi emphasized that the end of the presence of foreign forces in the country would pave the way for reconsideration of relations with Washington and other friendly countries.

Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani, Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis, the deputy chief of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization (al-Hashed al-Sha'abi), along with a number of other military figures were martyred by direct order of US President Donald Trump in the early hours of Friday morning (January 3, 2020).

Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani was awarded by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as the first Iranian military official to hold Iran’s highest military order, the Order of Zulfaqar after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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