About 2,500 American soldiers are present in Iraq (Getty-Archive)
Baghdad announced that it had agreed with Washington to set a specific timetable for the gradual withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, after tensions escalated as a result of successive attacks targeting those forces against the backdrop of US support for Israel in its war on Gaza.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said - in a statement today, Thursday - that according to an agreement between the two sides that came after several rounds of negotiations, the “gradual and deliberate” reduction of advisors to the US-led international coalition on Iraqi soil will begin and its military mission against ISIS will begin.
The statement added that there will be a transition to comprehensive bilateral relations with the coalition countries that are consistent with the vision of the Iraqi government.
The ministry stated that Iraq renewed its commitment to the safety of international coalition advisors during the negotiation period throughout the country, to maintain stability and prevent escalation.
For his part, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the timetable for the transition process takes into account "ISIS threats, operational requirements, and the level of capabilities of the Iraqi security forces."
He added that the US-Iraqi working groups will discuss the three factors and provide advice on the best way to develop the coalition’s mission.
Austin explained that the two countries will begin holding meetings of working groups for the Supreme Military Committee that will enable the transition to a "sustainable security relationship between the United States and Iraq."
Members of the Iraqi Al-Nujaba Movement burn the American and Israeli flags in Baghdad (Reuters - Archive)
Security partnership
However, a senior official in the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) said that the meetings of the Supreme Military Committee “are not to negotiate the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.”
The official stated that there is a need to move to a normal bilateral security partnership relationship with Iraq, as he put it.
There are about 2,500 American soldiers in Iraq as part of the international coalition against ISIS, and hundreds of soldiers from other countries, most of them European, are deployed in the country.
Reuters quoted American and Iraqi officials as saying that the talks are expected to take several months, if not longer.
American forces in the Middle East are facing escalating attacks with missiles and drones against the backdrop of their support for Israel in its war on Gaza.
Armed factions have launched more than 150 attacks on these forces in Iraq and Syria since last October 17, according to the Pentagon.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies