Hussein: Iraq is still in need of the U.S. forces

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Minister of Foreign affairs, Fouad Hussein, said on Wednesday that his country still needs the support of the US.S forces affiliated with the Global Coalition.

Hussein said in an interview with the American Al-Hurra TV channel, "the Iraqi government is convinced that there is no need for American military combat forces," stressing that Washington understands this issue.

Hussein added that the Iraqi government informed the Americans of, "Iraq's need to develop military training, and the urgent need for cooperation in the field of military intelligence and air power."

Hussein indicated that Iraq, "needs the coalition forces, and here we are talking about the U.S. ones, to support the Iraqi security forces in their war against ISIS."

Hussein had arrived in Washington on Tuesday, to prepare for the fourth session of the strategic dialogue between Baghdad and Washington, scheduled for next Friday, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

Hussein said that the fourth round would most probably be the last one, adding that it will not be limited to discussing military and security issues, but will shed light on a set of files, including the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Regarding the attacks targeting U.S. facilities in Iraq, Hussein said that Baghdad, "discussed the attacks on airports and diplomatic missions with the Iranian side, and asked it to intervene with some elements and factions to stop the attacks."

"We told them that some groups claim that they are ideologically linked to you," noting, "some of these discussions almost resulted in stopping the attacks against missions."

The Iraqi minister stressed that the solution lies in opening a clear discussion with these groups to reach a solution.