US Troops Pullout Already Underway

RNA - "The US has started withdrawal from Iraq and started retreat from 15 military bases," Ali al-Qameni, a member of the Iraqi parliament's Security and Defense Commission, was quoted by the Arabic-language al-Ahd news website, as saying on Monday.

He said the Americans only insist on continued buildup at the two bases of Ein al-Assad and Erbil, but Iraqi people and the parliament are pressuring them to conduct a full retreat from the country's entire territory.

Iraq's Parliament has voted to have the US troops removed from the country, heeding a call from former Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi to take urgent measures and end the foreign forces presence as soon as possible.

The Iraqi Parliament passed a resolution to work to end the foreign troop presence in the Arab country in the wake of a US targeted assassination of a top Iranian general and a commander of Iraqi popular forces.

The resolution, which was passed anonymously, instructed the government to cancel a request for military assistance to the US-led coalition, which was issued in response to the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (known as ISIL, ISIS or Daesh) terror group.

"The government commits to revoke its request for assistance from the international coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant due to the end of military operations in Iraq and the achievement of victory," the resolution read, adding, "The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, airspace or water for any reason."

The resolution stated that Iraqi military leadership has to report the number of foreign instructors that are necessary for Iraqi national security.

Earlier, Abdul Mahdi had requested that parliament order the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

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