RNA - Some Iraqi media outlets have recently reported that Washington and Baghdad have inked an agreement to prolong the US deployment in Iraq after retaking control of Mosul from the ISIL, but Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office rushed to issue a statement to strongly reject the reports.
The media reports were released after Chief of Staff of the US Army General Mark Milley spoke of the US commitment to support Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan region in the post-ISIL era.
Also, US Senator Marco Rubio revealed the negotiations between Washington and the Kurdish officials to supply the Peshmerga forces with weapons and equipment, without any coordination with the government in Baghdad.
Meantime, Spokesman for Iraqi Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga fighters Jabbar Yavar said that Washington seeks to equip two divisions of Peshmerga fighters with different weapons, including heavy arms, and allocate $415mln to pay the salaries of 36,000 Peshmerga fighters who are due to participate in operations to liberate Mosul.
Iraq's prime minister said on Friday that no US combat troops will stay in Iraq after the fight against ISIL is concluded.
Al-Abadi remarks came in a statement following a report by the Associated Press that talks are ongoing between Iraq and the US on maintaining American forces in Iraq.
Al-Abadi said the American troops will be advisers who will help Iraq's security forces maintain "full readiness" for any "future security challenges".
Iraqi forces are struggling to retake the last remaining Mosul neighborhoods ISIL holds in the city's Western half, but even after a territorial victory, Iraqi and US-led coalition officials have warned of the potential for ISIL to carry out insurgent attacks in government-held territory.
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