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The United States has so far had 5,200 soldiers in Iraq (illustration). SABAH ARAR / AFP

In the aftermath of the decision adopted by the Iraqi Parliament demanding the expulsion of foreign troops, the American army announced on Monday January 6 in Baghdad its redeployment with a view to withdrawal.

The letter is signed by General William H. Seely, commander of US military operations in Iraq. In this missive, of which AFP was able to consult a copy, he tells the number two of the Iraqi military command to " reposition " the anti-Jihadist coalition forces with the aim of " withdrawing from Iraq in a safe and effective manner ".

" We respect your sovereign decision which orders our departure, " added the letter. Two days after the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and the Iranian man in Iraq, Abu Mehdi al-Mouhandis, in Baghdad, the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution on Sunday calling for the expulsion of troops from the international coalition . President Donald Trump reacted immediately, threatening Iraq with heavy sanctions if the departure was not " on a very friendly basis ".

As part of preparations for this withdrawal, the letter announces " an increase in helicopter travel over and around the Green Zone (...) overnight ", while many helicopters fly over central Baghdad from several nights, noted journalists from Agence France-Presse.

The United States had 5,200 soldiers in Iraq, until the arrival last week of several hundred others to protect the embassy in the Green Zone - an ultra-secure district of Baghdad -, attacked Tuesday by thousands of pro -Iran. Faced with mounting tensions, Washington recently announced the deployment of 3,000 to 3,500 additional soldiers in the region, " very probably " to send a part of them to Iraq, according to an American official.

(With AFP)