Eurasia Press & News
The Iraqi prime minister’s comments come a day after security sources suggest planes carrying US military personnel arrived at Ain al-Asad base in Anbar
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stated that Iraq “no longer needs the presence of foreign combat forces on its soil,” in a meeting with several leaders of the Iraqi army on 15 August.
“We are conducting advanced dialogues to determine the form of future relationship and cooperation with the international coalition,” led by the US, the prime minister’s media office quoted Sudani as saying.
Sudani also called for preparations to confront any action by ISIS, saying, “We must review all plans and preparations and remain at this level of readiness required for any movement that the terrorist organization may resort to.”
In January, Sudani had stated he supported an “indefinite US military presence” in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Sudani’s statement came a day after a security source in Anbar province in western Iraq reported that planes carrying an unknown number of soldiers, advisors, and civilians arrived at Ain al-Asad air base, Al-Maalomah News reported.
The source stated the planes likely transported US soldiers, advisors, experts, and military equipment.
“Ain al-Asad base witnessed an unusual movement of military transport aircraft that landed inside the air base with the US warplanes overflying the base to secure the arrival of these planes,” the source explained.
The US forces have tightened security measures at all their sites in the western regions of Iraq, the source added.
US forces in Iraq have been repeatedly targeted by missiles and booby-trapped drones launched by unknown parties.
The US military accuses Iraqi resistance factions of carrying out the attacks. These factions, including Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Harakat al-Nujaba, enjoy strong support from Iran and were established to defend Baghdad from ISIS after Mosul and Tikrit fell to the organization in 2014.
These groups have issued numerous warnings for US forces to withdraw from Iraq, which they view as having supported ISIS, including by airdropping weapons to the organization as it conquered large areas in Anbar, Nineveh, and Salah al-Din provinces.
The Iraqi authorities claim that as of December 2021, no foreign military forces exist in the country, and the mission of the remaining forces from the US-led international coalition is only to advise and train the Iraqi security forces and Kurdish Peshmerga.
The unknown military personnel arrived at Ain al-Asad one week after Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington, DC, during the inaugural US-Iraq Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue (JSCD).
“Secretary Austin reaffirmed the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership and underscored U.S. commitment to a secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq,” a statement from the US Department of Defense said, while claiming that the US remains committed to fighting ISIS.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, spokesperson for the Iraqi Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, stated in a press release that the visit entailed “a series of meetings with officials at the US Department of Defense to further the mutual interests between the two countries.”
