Baghdad protests against US troop presence in Iraq

Rasa - Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad today to protest against US military presence in their country.

News ID: 1194

Date: 20 September 2014 - 21:40

RNA - Iraqis took to the streets of Baghdad today to protest against US military presence in their country as US President Barack Obama said he plans to make his case against Islamic State (IS) militants at the United Nations General Assembly next week in a bid for greater international support in the anti-IS fight.

According to the local media outlets, demonstrators waved Iraqi flags and held up pictures of leading Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who says the country should not cooperate with US “occupiers”.

The anti-US rally in Baghdad came a day after the United Nations held a meeting on Iraq. It has been working to build an international coalition aimed at defeating the Islamic State, and says more than 40 countries have offered assistance.

Iran has so far rejected requests from the US to hold bilateral talks on fighting the militants, claiming that the US himself has been a long-time supporter of IS and therefore cannot be a real foe of the terrorist state.

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