Iraq and US-led Coalition forge security partnership
Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, the spokesman for the Iraqi Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Yahya Rasool Abdullah announced that the Iraqi High Military Committee and its counterpart affiliated with the Global Coalition have agreed to establish a security partnership with the United States.
Iraq and the US-led Coalition established a joint Higher Military Commission between Iraq and the US-led Coalition in Baghdad to review the Coalition's mission after Iraq's victory against ISIS.
Last January, a joint Higher Military Commission (HMC) between Iraq and the US-led Coalition in Baghdad was established. Three subcommittees were also formed to discuss the threat of ISIS, the operational environment, and the capabilities of the Iraqi Security Forces.
HMC is also concerned with reviewing the Coalition's mission after Iraq's victory against ISIS.
According to Maj. Gen. Rasool, during the meeting, both sides discussed the subcommittees' work, assessing threats posed by ISIS, the operational environment, the current security situation, and the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces.
"The members of both military committees praised the achievements and sacrifices made in the battles to defeat ISIS, as well as the ongoing efforts to prevent the resurgence of these terrorist groups, in addition to supporting Iraq's sovereignty, unity, and stability," Rasool said.
"Both sides affirmed the capabilities and capacities of the Iraqi security forces to defeat ISIS, also emphasizing the continued work of the subcommittees to present assessments to the High Military Commission and raise recommendations to making decisions regarding the timeline for the transition of the Global Coalition mission in Iraq to a bilateral security partnership between Iraq and the United States."
"This partnership aims to enhance the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces and work towards their development, thus bolstering the stability, security, and peace of Iraq and the region," Rasool said.
In December 2021, the US-led Coalition ended its combat mission in Iraq four years after helping the Iraqi forces in defeating ISIS.
Currently, 2,500 troops are deployed to "advise, assist, and enable" Iraqi security forces at the government's request.
It is noteworthy that the presence of foreign troops in Iraq has emerged as a significant issue, gaining prominence following the targeted killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and the leader of an Iran-backed leader, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020, when the Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling the government to end the presence of all foreign troops.
In the last months, the ongoing US airstrikes targeting Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq prompted Baghdad to consider terminating the mission of the U.S.-led Coalition.
The recent US military acts resulted in the death of about 30 PMF members, including fighters and medics, and a commander from Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed armed group in Iraq accused by the Pentagon of attacking its troops.
