Baghdad today – Baghdad
Kurdish politician Sardar Mustafa confirmed, on Saturday (January 6, 2024), that the Kurdistan region is part of Iraq and is affected by any security or political event in Iraq and the region.
Mustafa said in an interview with Baghdad today that “the region cannot support the exit of the international coalition from Iraq at the present time, as the coalition provides military and financial assistance to the Peshmerga forces.”
He added that “there are security concerns in the region that the withdrawal of the coalition may lead to an escalation of attacks against the region, and the increased risk of extremist groups, including ISIS.”
Mustafa pointed out that “any collapse of the security situation means this time the region entering the arena of war, this time is different from the previous times that Kurdistan was moving away from the arena of conflict, this time things seem different, and the region will be a party to the conflict, whether he wanted or father.”
Baghdad announced, on Friday (January 5, 2024), the formation of a bilateral committee with the United States, whose task is to determine arrangements for the termination of the mission of the international coalition to combat ISIS, led by Washington, in Iraq.
“We are in the process of determining the date for the start of the dialogue, through the bilateral committee that was formed to determine the arrangements for the end of this presence, a commitment that the government will not retract, and will not abandon everything that would complete national sovereignty over the land, sky and waters of Iraq,” Prime Minister, Mohammed Shiaaa Al-Sudani, said.
Al-Sudani stressed “the firm and principled position in ending the existence of the international coalition after the justifications for its existence ended.”
There are approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, as part of Washington’s efforts to prevent the return of ISIS, which occupied large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The formation of the committee comes a day after a drone targeted the headquarters of the “Al-Nujaba Movement”, which is part of the “Popular Mobilization” factions, which resulted in the martyrdom of the military official of the movement, Talib Ali Al-Saidi, nicknamed “Abu Taqwa.” Other elements were also martyred after the strike, according to those close to Al-Nujaba.
In a statement to Al-Hurra, a military official in the Pentagon explained that at 12 noon Iraq time, the US forces took a necessary and proportionate measure against Abu Taqwa, an official in the Nujaba movement, who was “involved in planning and launching attacks against American forces.”
The official added that the airstrike killed Abu Taqwa and another element.
“The air strike was launched in self-defense, did not harm civilians and no infrastructure or facility was hit,” he continued.
A U.S. official has previously confirmed that the United States “continues to take action to protect its forces in Iraq and Syria, and by addressing the threats it faces.”
The developments followed more than 110 attacks by U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since mid-October.
On the other hand, Al-Sudani said, on Friday, that “the most serious incidents are repeated more than once in Iraq through the international coalition forces carrying out attacks against the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization,” adding: “We have repeatedly stressed that in the event of a breach or abuse by any Iraqi party, or if Iraqi law is violated, the Iraqi government is the only party that has to follow up on the reas for these violations.”
https://hathalyoum.net/articles/3293433-كردستان-يؤيد-بقاء-التحالف-الدولي-في-العراق-نخشى-تزايد-
