Baghdad, Washington hold talks on ending coalition’s mission: Iraqi army

Iraqi military spokesman Yahya Rasoul said in a statement on Tuesday that the joint Higher Military Commission (HMC) held a meeting on Monday, and the two sides discussed the work of the subcommittees accomplished during the past months.

The meeting also evaluated the threat of the Islamic State (IS) group, the security situation, and the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, it added.

The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 based on false claims about Baghdad possessing weapons of mass destruction, leaving a trail of destruction, death, and chaos in the Arab country.

The US and its allies re-launched a military campaign in 2014 to supposedly fight off Daesh. The group had emerged in Iraq and neighboring Syria earlier as Washington was running out of excuses to extend its meddling in the West Asia region or enlarge it in scale.

The US military claimed to be ending its combat mission in Iraq in 2021 but said it would retain some 2,500 troops in the country as alleged advisors.