The US has no plans to leave Iraq
The US administration does not currently plan to withdraw its troops from Iraq, the number of which is about 2.5 thousand people. This was announced by Pentagon Press Secretary General Patrick Ryder at a regular briefing for journalists.
Earlier, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that the justifications for the presence of international coalition forces led by the United States in Iraq had ended. Immediately after American troops struck the headquarters of the Iraqi militia in Baghdad, the head of government said that the country's authorities would immediately begin to agree on a date for the withdrawal of foreign troops. "Right now, I'm not aware of any plans [to withdraw troops]. We remain focused on the complete defeat of ISIS (Da'esh)," Ryder said. He added that he was "not aware of any requests from the Iraqi government to the Pentagon" asking for the withdrawal of American troops. The representative of the military department noted that the US armed forces are in Iraq at the invitation of the government of this country. On January 4, one of the commanders of the Hezbollah al-Nujaba movement, Abu Taqwa, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, and at least six other people were injured. Abu Taqwa led the 12th brigade of the Al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia. On December 26, 2023, US Central Command announced strikes against Kataib Hezbollah targets on Iraqi soil in response to attacks on coalition forces in Iraq and Syria. The Iraqi government then regarded US strikes against targets on Iraqi territory as a hostile act that violated the country's sovereignty.
