The United States stressed its continued presence in Iraq, indicating that it has a long way to go in the country.
US Consul General in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Robert Palladino, said during a press conference in Erbil that Washington will withdraw its combat forces from Iraq at the end of 2021, but its other forces will continue to train Iraqi troops and the Peshmerga.
“The United States is staying in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region. We are on this journey with you for the long haul,” Palladino said on Monday, adding that the situation in Iraq was different from Afghanistan.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced that Baghdad attached great importance to relations of cooperation and partnership with the countries of the European Union.
During a meeting with EU Ambassador to Iraq Martin Huth, Kadhimi noted that his country “bestows high importance to these relations at all levels.”
The ambassador, for his part, reiterated “the commitments of the European Union to assist Iraq in holding the upcoming elections with success.”
French President Emmanuel Macron had participated in the Baghdad Summit for Cooperation and Partnership on Saturday, and confirmed that his country would remain in Iraq regardless of the US position.
The US and European assurances come as ISIS has started to escalate its attacks in western regions of the country, in addition to an attack in Kirkuk in the north.
Iraqi forces have launched a three-pronged operation to hunt down ISIS militants on the border strip with Syria. The international coalition announced it had carried out an operation in western Iraq on Tuesday.
The US-led coalition said in a statement: “Efforts by the Iraqi forces continue to strike ISIS by depriving them of safe havens and the resources needed to return.”
It continued: “Iraqi Army Aviation targeted 3 ISIS terrorists spotted inside a pick-up truck while providing surveillance support for Anbar Operations Command.”
