US-Led Coalition Hands Over Kirkuk Base to Iraqi Security Forces

US soldiers stand guard during the handover ceremony of Qayyarah Airfield, Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq early Friday, March 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)
US soldiers stand guard during the handover ceremony of Qayyarah Airfield, Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq early Friday, March 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)
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US-Led Coalition Hands Over Kirkuk Base to Iraqi Security Forces

US soldiers stand guard during the handover ceremony of Qayyarah Airfield, Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq early Friday, March 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)
US soldiers stand guard during the handover ceremony of Qayyarah Airfield, Iraqi Security Forces, in the south of Mosul, Iraq early Friday, March 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Ali Abdul Hassan)

The US-led coalition in Iraq withdrew Sunday from a military base in the country's north, military sources told the German news agency on Sunday.

The sources said the operation was completed during a military ceremony held in the presence of Iraqi military officers and Coalition forces operating at the base.

The military base is the third that Iraq has received from the international coalition forces this month.

A few days ago, US troops with the coalition fighting ISIS in Iraq officially handed over the Qayyarah airbase to the Iraqi military as part of their redeployment plan in the country.

Iraq’s news agency, NINA, quoted the Joint Operations Command as saying: "Based on the results of the fruitful dialogues between the Iraqi government and the international coalition, the site that was occupied by the international coalition mission inside the K1 camp in Kirkuk Governorate was returned today to the Iraqi forces after the international coalition withdrew from it, according to its commitment to return the sites it had occupied to the Iraqi forces.”

Meanwhile, the German army announced it would withdraw from Iraq some of its soldiers present in the country as part of the US-led international coalition to fight ISIS, following the COVID-19 pandemic spreads in Middle Eastern countries.

Soldiers who are not essential for ongoing missions on the ground will return to Germany, Bundeswehr commanders confirmed on Sunday. Some troops already landed in Germany on Sunday morning, according to Germany's DPA news agency.

Iraq has 506 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 42 deaths.

Last week, the US-led coalition said it has suspended training of Iraqi forces over coronavirus fears. It said the Coalition is evacuating non-essential staff from Iraq.



Blinken: US Wants Real, Extended Pauses in Fighting in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
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Blinken: US Wants Real, Extended Pauses in Fighting in Gaza

FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken  speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington, US, October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

The United States wants real and extended pauses in fighting in Gaza so assistance can get to people who need it, but the best way to help people would be to end the war, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
"Israel, by the standards it set itself, has accomplished the goals that it set for itself," Blinken told reporters during a visit to Brussels. "This should be a time to end the war."
On Tuesday, after the expiry of a 30-day US deadline for Israel to take steps to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Washington said Israel was
not blocking aid to Gaza and therefore not violating US law.
Eight international aid groups said Israel had failed to meet the US demands to improve access for assistance. Food security experts have said it is likely that
famine is imminent in parts of Gaza.
Biden, whose term ends in January and who will be replaced with his predecessor Donald Trump, has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
Since then, more than 43,500 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza, with 2 million displaced people and much of the strip reduced to rubble.
Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, has strongly backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's goal of destroying Hamas. He has promised to bring peace to the Middle East, but has not said how he would accomplish that.