BAGHDAD (Anadolu) – The Iraqi army has denied reports about extending the date for the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from the country.
“The date for the departure of (U.S.) combat forces on Dec. 31 is fixed and there is no change,” Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman of the Joint Operations Command, told the official Iraqi News Agency.
Baghdad and Washington agreed in July to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2021. However, an unknown number of U.S. troops would remain to ‘advise and train’ Iraqi forces.
“The relationship between the two sides after the departure of the combat forces will be an advisory relationship, in the fields of training, armament, intelligence, and security against the Daesh terror group,” al-Khafaji said.
The Iraqi denial came after the Kataeb Sayyid al-Shuhada faction said it would welcome volunteers to join its ranks to fight the American forces after the end of this year.
Over the past months, military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq have been targeted with missile attacks.
Currently, there are around 3,000 troops, including 2,500 U.S. troops in the country allegedly fighting in the anti-Daesh coalition.
Iraqi political forces have called for the withdrawal of the U.S. troops from the country under a parliamentary decision issued on Jan. 5, 2020.