For this reason, the Iraqi prime minister stresses the "need" for the US forces to remain

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani considered that his country still "needs foreign forces," most of which are American, according to an interview published Sunday by The Wall Street Journal.

"We believe we need foreign forces," said Al-Sudani, who has held the post since the end of October, adding, "It will take some time to eliminate ISIS."

"We do not need forces to fight inside Iraqi territory," he said, explaining that "the threat to Iraq stems from the infiltration of (extremist organization) cells from Syria."

The United States has about two thousand military personnel in Iraq to carry out training and advisory missions.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is also carrying out a non-combat mission in Iraq, in which, according to its website, "hundreds" of personnel from several member states or NATO partners (Australia, Finland and Sweden) participate.

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