US to reduce troop presence in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000
Source: France 24
Issued on: 09/09/2020 - 15:33
The Pentagon will slash the level of US troops in Iraq to 3,000 this month, a senior general said Wednesday, as President Donald Trump seeks to honour a pledge to withdraw from foreign conflicts.
"In consultation and coordination with the Government of Iraq and our coalition partners, the United States has decided to reduce our troop presence in Iraq from about 5,200 to 3,000 troops during the month of September," said General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of the US military's Central Command.
The US troops were deployed in Iraq in 2014 to fight the Islamic State (IS) group after the Iraqi army fled the battlefields around Mosul and the northern Iraqi city fell to jihadist control. Officials in the US-led coalition say Iraqi forces are now mostly able to handle the remnants of IS group on their own.
McKenzie said the US was committed to its "ultimate goal" of an Iraq where local forces alone can prevent the IS group from returning and secure "Iraq's sovereignty without external assistance".
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Read more: https://www.france24.com/en/20200909-us-to-reduce-troop-presence-in-iraq-from-5-200-to-3-000
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Trump could have done this last year after the Islamic State gave up it's last territory in March 2019.
See through the con.
