BAGDHAD (Dispatches) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in talks with Iraqi President Barham Salih, has claimed that the alleged U.S. operations against Daesh are not over, but are entering a new phase, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.
Blinken spoke with Salih on Saturday, Sputnik reported.
Price claimed in a statement after the talks that the U.S. was ‘committed’ to a stable Iraq and that Washington had taken note of Iraq’s efforts to hold fair elections on October 10, Sputnik reported.
“The Secretary reiterated that the Defeat-ISIS mission is not over but is shifting to a new phase based on the enhanced capabilities of the Iraqi Security Forces,” Price said.
There are currently an estimated 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq assisting local forces to counter Daesh remnants.
President Joe Biden said in July that the U.S. combat mission in Iraq would come to a close by the end of this year.
The comments come as anti-U.S. sentiments are growing in Iraq among people and politicians.
Hardly a week goes by in Iraq when American interests are not hit through strikes. The attacks have become significantly bolder over time, targeting even the very Iraqi bases that house American troops on numerous occasions.
The Arab nation’s resistance groups have vowed to sustain their struggle until the expulsion of all the Americans.
The country’s parliament voted overwhelmingly early last year in favor of ejection of all foreign forces.