Relations between the US and Iraq are fraying North American troops must leave the country

Iraq's top military committee has resumed its meetings with forces of the US-led international coalition – established in the Arab country – to develop a calendar that will lead to a gradual end to the coalition's mission against the jihadists in Iraq, the military said. . This will force American soldiers to leave the country.

US strikes on pro-Iranian militia facilities with missiles against 85 targets in Iraq and Syria killed 39 people, including civilians near the sites of the strikes.

The meetings, which have begun in Baghdad, will assess the “military situation, threat level, operational environment and capabilities of the Iraqi armed forces” as well as “develop a timetable for the necessary and gradual drawdown. The intention of the international coalition forces to move into a bilateral relationship with IS.”An Iraqi military spokesman said in a statement. He also noted that as long as “nothing disturbs the peace of the negotiations,” these meetings would be held from time to time to “quickly conclude the work of the group,” without elaborating.

A strained relationship

The United States and the Iraqi government are discussing the future of the international coalition's presence at bases in Iraqi territory that have been the target of missile and drone attacks by Iraqi Shiite militias since Israel's war in Gaza began in October. This has prompted a response from Washington, which Iraq has condemned. The U.S. announced it would withdraw from its counter-jihadist mission and use Iraqi territory to launch its counterattacks.

The international coalition, of which Spain is a member, helped the Iraqi security forces and popular militias linked to the Iraqi army defeat the Islamic State, a jihadist group that partially occupied the country in 2014 and was territorially ousted. In December 2017.