Iraq Says US Troop Drawdown Talks Will Go on ‘As Long as Nothing Disturbs the Peace of the Talks’ 

04 February 2024, Iraq, Baghdad: A member of the Iraqi's Popular Mobilization Forces stands guard during the funeral of the 16 members killed in US airstrikes. (dpa)
04 February 2024, Iraq, Baghdad: A member of the Iraqi's Popular Mobilization Forces stands guard during the funeral of the 16 members killed in US airstrikes. (dpa)
TT

Iraq Says US Troop Drawdown Talks Will Go on ‘As Long as Nothing Disturbs the Peace of the Talks’ 

04 February 2024, Iraq, Baghdad: A member of the Iraqi's Popular Mobilization Forces stands guard during the funeral of the 16 members killed in US airstrikes. (dpa)
04 February 2024, Iraq, Baghdad: A member of the Iraqi's Popular Mobilization Forces stands guard during the funeral of the 16 members killed in US airstrikes. (dpa)

Iraq and the US-led military coalition resumed meetings Sunday on how to draw down troops who have been deployed there for years combating the ISIS extremist group.

The first long-awaited meeting took place Jan. 27, but had since been put on pause after Iran-backed militants struck a US outpost near the Syrian-Jordanian border the very next day with a drone that killed three US service members.

In the weeks since, the US has launched multiple retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria including a strike last week that killed a high-ranking commander of the Kataib Hezbollah militia, who the US said is responsible for “directly planning and participating in attacks” on American troops in the region.

Both Iraq and the US had agreed last August to enter into talks to transition US and coalition forces from their long-standing role in assisting Iraq in combating ISIS.

There are approximately 2,500 US troops in the country, and their departure will take into account the security situation on the ground, and the capabilities of the Iraqi armed forces, the Iraq government said in a statement Sunday posted to X, formerly Twitter.

The resumed meetings will continue to chart a path to a new bilateral relationship “as long as nothing disturbs the peace of the talks,” Iraq said in its statement.

Iraq has long struggled to balance its ties with the US and Iran, both allies of the Iraqi government but regional archenemies. Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in the wake of Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks, Iran-aligned groups have struck at US facilities in Iraq and Syria 170 times, prompting retaliatory airstrikes by the US, which blames Kataib Hezbollah for a string of those attacks.

The Iraqi government has angrily condemned US airstrikes against Kataib Hezbollah, which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces.

The Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, are state-sanctioned, mainly Shiite militias, which have grown into a powerful political faction estimated to have the most seats in the Iraqi parliament.

But the deaths of three US service members last month was a red line for the US and in the days following the deadly strike, Iran disavowed any knowledge or connection to the attack, and Kataib Hezbollah said it would cease launching attacks in order to not embarrass the Iraqi government.

Notably, there have been no additional strikes against US bases in Iraq since Feb. 4.



Israeli Fire Causes Casualties as Palestinians are Kept Out of North Gaza

Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza after they were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, January 26, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza after they were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, January 26, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
TT

Israeli Fire Causes Casualties as Palestinians are Kept Out of North Gaza

Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza after they were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, January 26, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza after they were displaced to the south at Israel's order during the war, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, January 26, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

A Palestinian man was killed and seven people were wounded by Israeli fire overnight, local health officials said Sunday, as crowds gathered in hopes of returning to the northern Gaza Strip under a fragile week-old ceasefire aimed at winding down the war.

Under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Israel on Saturday was to begin allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza on foot through the so-called Netzarim corridor bisecting the territory. Israel put the move on hold until Hamas freed a hostage who Israel said was supposed to have been released that day.

The man was shot and two others were wounded late Saturday, according to the Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. Another five Palestinians, including a child, were wounded early Sunday in a separate shooting, the hospital said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Israel has pulled back from several areas of Gaza as part of the ceasefire, which came into force last Sunday, but the military has warned people to stay away from its forces, which are still operating in a buffer zone inside Gaza along the border and in the Netzarim corridor.

Hamas freed four young female Israeli soldiers on Saturday, and Israel released some 200 Palestinian prisoners, most of whom were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks.

But Israel said another hostage, the female civilian Arbel Yehoud, was supposed to have been released as well, and that it would not open the Netzarim corridor until she was freed. It also accused Hamas of failing to provide details on the conditions of the hostages set to be freed in the coming weeks.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar, which mediated the ceasefire, were working to address the dispute.

The ceasefire reached earlier this month after more than a year of negotiations is aimed at ending the 15-month war triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack and freeing scores of hostages still held in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Around 90 hostages are still being held in Gaza, and Israeli authorities believe at least a third, and up to half of them, were killed in the initial attack or died in captivity.

The first phase of the ceasefire runs until early March and includes the release of a total of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The second — and far more difficult — phase, has yet to be negotiated. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without an end to the war, while Israel has threatened to resume its offensive until Hamas is destroyed.