US-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year, sources say

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and Major General Joel “J.B.” Vowell attend the first session of negotiations between Iraq and the US to wind down the International Coalition mission in Baghdad, Iraq, on January 27, 2024. (Reuters/File Photo)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and Major General Joel “J.B.” Vowell attend the first session of negotiations between Iraq and the US to wind down the International Coalition mission in Baghdad, Iraq, on January 27, 2024. (Reuters/File Photo)
Short Url
Updated 06 September 2024
Follow

US-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year, sources say

US-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year, sources say
  • Plan involves withdrawal by end of 2026, sources say, but still needs final go-ahead
  • Some troops may stay in advisory role, but Iraq said troops have become magnet for instability

BAGHDAD: The United States and Iraq have reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The plan, which has been broadly agreed but requires a final go-ahead from both capitals and an announcement date, would see hundreds of troops leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026, the sources said.
“We have an agreement, its now just a question of when to announce it,” a senior US official said.
The US and Iraq are also seeking to establish a new advisory relationship that could see some US troops remain in Iraq after the drawdown.
An official announcement was initially scheduled for weeks ago but was postponed due to regional escalation related to Israel’s war in Gaza and to iron out some remaining details, the sources said.
The sources include five US officials, two officials from other coalition nations, and three Iraqi officials, all speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Several sources said the deal could be announced this month.
Farhad Alaaldin, foreign affairs adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, said technical talks with Washington on the coalition drawdown had concluded.
“We are now on the brink of transitioning the relationship between Iraq and members of the international coalition to a new level, focusing on bilateral relations in military, security, economic, and cultural areas,” he said.
He did not comment on details of the plan and the US-led coalition did not respond to emailed questions.
The agreement follows more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in January amid attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups on US forces stationed at Iraqi bases.
The rocket and drone attacks have killed three American troops and wounded dozens more, resulting in several rounds of deadly US retaliation that threatened government efforts to stabilize Iraq after decades of conflict.
The US has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to combat Daesh as it rampaged through the two countries.
The group once held roughly a third of Iraq and Syria but was territorially defeated in Iraq at the end of 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Iraq had demonstrated its ability to handle any remaining threat, Alaaldin said.
The US initially invaded Iraq in 2003, toppling dictator Saddam Hussein before withdrawing in 2011, but returned in 2014 at the head of the coalition to fight Daesh.
Other nations, including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, also contribute hundreds of troops to the coalition.
Under the plan, all coalition forces would leave the Ain Al-Asad air base in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025.
US and other coalition troops are expected to remain in Irbil, in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region, for approximately one additional year, until around the end of 2026, to facilitate ongoing operations against Daesh in Syria.
Exact details of troop movements are being kept secret due to their military sensitivity.
The drawdown would mark a notable shift in Washington’s military posture in the region.
While primarily focused on countering Daesh, US officials acknowledge their presence also serves as a strategic position against Iranian influence.
This position has grown more important as Israel and Iran escalate their regional confrontation, with US forces in Iraq shooting down rockets and drones fired toward Israel in recent months, according to US officials.
Prime Minister Al-Sudani has stated that, while he appreciates their help, US troops have become a magnet for instability, frequently targeted and responding with strikes often not coordinated with the Iraqi government.
The agreement, when announced, would likely present a political win for Al-Sudani as he balances Iraq’s position as an ally of both Washington and Tehran. The first phase of the drawdown would end one month before Iraqi parliamentary polls set for October 2025.
For the US, the two-year time frame provides “breathing room,” allowing for potential adjustments if the regional situation changes, a US official said.
The State Department and US Embassy in Baghdad did not respond to requests for comment.


Yazidi woman, 21, freed from Gaza in US-led operation

Yazidi woman, 21, freed from Gaza in US-led operation
Updated 10 sec ago
Follow

Yazidi woman, 21, freed from Gaza in US-led operation

Yazidi woman, 21, freed from Gaza in US-led operation
  • She ‘was in good physical condition but was traumatized by dire humanitarian situation in Gaza’

A 21-year-old woman kidnapped by Daesh in Iraq more than a decade ago was freed from Gaza this week in an operation led by the US and involving Jordan and the Baghdad government, Iraqi and US officials said.

The woman is a member of the ancient Yazidi religious minority mostly found in Iraq and Syria, which saw more than 5,000 members killed and thousands more kidnapped in a 2014 campaign that the UN has said constituted genocide.

She was freed after more than four months of efforts that involved several attempts that failed due to the difficult security situation resulting from Israel’s offensive in Gaza, said Silwan Sinjaree, chief of staff of Iraq’s foreign minister.

Officials did not provide details of how she was eventually freed, and Jordanian and US Embassy officials in Baghdad did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Reuters could not reach the woman directly for comment.

A State Department spokesperson said the US on Oct. 1 “helped to safely evacuate from Gaza, a young Yezidi woman to be reunited with her family in Iraq.”

The spokesperson said she was kidnapped from her home in Iraq, aged 11, and sold and trafficked to Gaza.  Her captor was recently killed, allowing her to escape and seek repatriation, the spokesperson said.

Sinjaree said she was in good physical condition but was traumatized by her time in captivity and by the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. 

She had since been reunited with family in northern Iraq, he added.

The Yazidi nightmare
Ten years after the genocide, their torment continues
Enter
keywords

More than 6,000 Yazidis were captured by Daesh from the native Sinjar region in Iraq in 2014, with many sold into sexual slavery or trained as child soldiers and taken across borders, including to Turkiye and Syria.

Over the years, more than 3,500 have been rescued or freed, according to Iraqi authorities, with some 2,600 still missing.

Many are feared dead but Yazidi activists say they believe hundreds are still alive.


Civilians bear brunt in ‘catastrophic’ Lebanon conflict, UN official says

Civilians bear brunt in ‘catastrophic’ Lebanon conflict, UN official says
Updated 03 October 2024
Follow

Civilians bear brunt in ‘catastrophic’ Lebanon conflict, UN official says

Civilians bear brunt in ‘catastrophic’ Lebanon conflict, UN official says
  • Imran Riza, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, said the pace of displacement since Sept. 23 had exceeded worst case scenarios
  • “The level of trauma, the level of fear among the population, has been extreme,” he said

BEIRUT: Civilians are bearing the brunt of a “truly catastrophic” situation in Lebanon, a senior UN official said, urging respect for the rules of war nearly two weeks since Israel launched a major offensive against the armed group Hezbollah.
With around 1 million people in Lebanon impacted, Imran Riza, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, said the pace of displacement since Sept. 23 had exceeded worst case scenarios, and too much damage was being done to civilian infrastructure.
“What we saw from Sept. 23 on is truly catastrophic,” Riza said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday. He was referring to the day when Israel dramatically ramped up airstrikes in Lebanon, killing more than 500 people in a single day, according to Lebanese government figures.
“The level of trauma, the level of fear among the population, has been extreme,” he said.
Israel says its campaign against the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah aims to secure the return home of Israelis evacuated from areas near the Lebanese border as a result of nearly a year of Hezbollah fire into northern Israel.
The Lebanese government says around 1.2 million people have been displaced by Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, the southern suburbs of Beirut and other parts of the country. Some have been killed in Israeli strikes after having been displaced.
“You’ve got people being displaced from one place to another, thinking they were going to a safe place, and then that being struck,” Riza said.
Riza said 97 medical and emergency workers had been killed — the majority of them in the last 10 days. There has been too much damage to civilian infrastructure, and civilians have been “bearing the great brunt of what’s been going on,” he said.
He noted that international humanitarian law requires that humanitarians be allowed to access people in need, and that civilian infrastructure and water systems be protected.
“This is what we call for when we’re saying respect the rules of war in this,” he said. “Unfortunately, we are seeing a situation where we have to go back to everybody and advocate for these basics in terms of protecting civilians.”
The conflict began a nearly a year ago when Hezbollah opened fire in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas, at the start of the Gaza war. It marks the worst conflict since Hezbollah fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006.
Riza and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday launched a $426 million appeal to mobilize resources for civilians affected by the conflict.
Lebanon was already suffering myriad crises before this conflict began.
As a result, Riza said Lebanon was less well placed to deal with conflict now than in 2006: “People don’t have buffers the way they had in 2006, on the other hand the institutions that are there to help them are much weaker.”


Yemen’s government asks Yemenis to leave Lebanon as war intensifies

Yemen’s government asks Yemenis to leave Lebanon as war intensifies
Updated 03 October 2024
Follow

Yemen’s government asks Yemenis to leave Lebanon as war intensifies

Yemen’s government asks Yemenis to leave Lebanon as war intensifies
  • Houthis claim their military forces launched barrage of drones at ‘vital targets’ in the Israeli capital in support of Palestinian and Lebanese people
  • Yemenis who wish to leave Lebanon should first request a transit visit from the Syrian government

AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s government has asked its citizens in Lebanon to leave as the war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah escalates.
The Yemeni embassy in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, has requested that Yemenis in Lebanon travel by land to the Lebanon-Syria border due to the lack of charter flights for air evacuation.
Yemenis who wish to leave Lebanon should first request a transit visit from the Syrian government, it said.
The Yemeni embassy will arrange buses and other transport to take them by land from Lebanon to Syria and then to Jordan, where they will be transferred to Yemeni Sanaa or Aden airports on Yemenia Airways flights, according to the Yemeni embassy.
This comes as Yemenis in Lebanon have urged their government to evacuate them immediately as Israel has increased its airstrikes on the Lebanese capital and other areas of the country, targeting Hezbollah locations.
However, Yemenis reject the embassy’s proposal to evacuate them by land to Syria, saying that the Syria border crossing with Lebanon is congested with thousands of people fleeing the war and also prone to Israeli airstrikes.
Mushtaq Anaam, a Yemeni national living in Beirut’s Cola, told Arab News that a recent Israeli airstrike struck 70 meters from where he lives and that he refused to travel from Lebanon to Syria by land after hearing an Israeli military spokesperson threaten to strike the Lebanon-Syria border, claiming it to be an entry point for weapons to Hezbollah.
“I’d rather stay here than travel through Syria, which is a dangerous route that has been bombed repeatedly,” said Anaam, who is a postgraduate student in Lebanon.
Anaam suggested that the Yemeni government work with the Lebanese authorities to allow Yemenia Airways planes to transport them or that they be evacuated by sea.
“The situation here is dire, and the war is becoming more intense by the day,” he said.
However, the Yemeni embassy in Beirut said that it was unable to secure a flight to evacuate Yemenis by air and that the only viable option was to travel by land through Syria.
The Yemeni embassy in Beirut and Yemeni foreign ministry officials were unavailable on Thursday to respond to Arab News’ requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea claimed on Thursday that their military forces launched a barrage of drones at “vital targets” in the Israeli capital in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese people, vowing to carry out more attacks on Israel until it ended its war in Palestine and Lebanon.
The Israeli military said that it shot down a drone over the Mediterranean Gush Dan on Thursday morning, while another landed in an open area, but did not elaborate on the origins of the two drones.
Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes on Yemen’s western city of Hodeidah on Sunday, targeting ports, power plants and fuel tanks in response to a Houthi missile attack on Israel’s capital.
Since November, the Houthis have attacked more than 100 commercial and naval ships in the Red Sea and other seas off Yemen, using drones, ballistic missiles and drone boats in a campaign that the Yemeni militia claims is in support of the Palestinian people.


Biden says ‘discussing’ possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities

Biden says ‘discussing’ possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
Updated 03 October 2024
Follow

Biden says ‘discussing’ possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities

Biden says ‘discussing’ possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
  • When asked by a reporter if he supported Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, Biden said “we’re discussing that. I think that would be a little... anyway“
  • Biden said he did not expect any immediate action from Israel

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden said he was discussing possible Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities, in comments that sent oil prices spiking Thursday just a month before the US presidential election.
Biden told reporters at the White House however that he was not expecting Israel to launch any retaliation for Tehran’s missile barrage on Israel before Thursday at least.
When asked by a reporter if he supported Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, Biden said “we’re discussing that. I think that would be a little... anyway.”
Oil prices jumped five percent over concerns about the Middle East after Biden spoke.
A rise in oil prices could be hugely damaging for Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat confronts Republican former president Donald Trump in a November 5 election where the cost of living is a major issue.
Biden said he did not expect any immediate action from Israel — even if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently paid little heed to calls for restraint as he targets the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
“First of all, we don’t ‘allow’ Israel, we advise Israel. And there is nothing going to happen today,” Biden told reporters when asked if he would allow Israel to retaliate against Iran.
Biden said on Wednesday that he would not back Israel attacking Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran launched around 200 rockets in a direct missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, prompting Netanyahu to warn that Tehran would pay.
Iran said it was in retaliation for the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has been launching rockets at Israel since shortly after the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Iran’s Palestinian ally Hamas, and Israel’s crushing retaliatory offensive in Gaza.


Jordanian, Japanese foreign ministers urge de-escalation amid Middle East tensions

Jordanian, Japanese foreign ministers urge de-escalation amid Middle East tensions
Updated 03 October 2024
Follow

Jordanian, Japanese foreign ministers urge de-escalation amid Middle East tensions

Jordanian, Japanese foreign ministers urge de-escalation amid Middle East tensions
  • During their phone call, the ministers warned that the rising tensions posed serious risks to both regional and international peace and security

AMMAN: Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Japanese counterpart Iwaya Takeshi held urgent talks on Thursday, addressing the escalating violence in the Middle East and emphasizing the critical need for peace.

During their phone call, the ministers warned that the rising tensions posed serious risks to both regional and international security, calling for immediate efforts to prevent the situation from spiraling into a broader conflict, Jordan News Agency reported.

Both ministers stressed the importance of implementing a ceasefire in Lebanon and reaffirmed their commitment to enforcing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for a cessation of hostilities in the region.

The discussion also touched on efforts to secure a prisoner exchange deal in Gaza, aimed at also achieving an immediate and lasting ceasefire in the enclave.

The Jordanian minister underscored the urgency of halting Israeli military operations in Gaza to prevent further escalation.

He also called for an end to Israeli actions in the West Bank and condemned extremist incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Both ministers discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza as well as Lebanon, where nearly one million Lebanese citizens have been displaced due to ongoing Israeli aggression.

Safadi emphasized the need for coordinated humanitarian aid to both regions, urging swift action to alleviate the suffering caused by the conflict.

He reiterated that Jordan would deploy all available resources to safeguard its security and stability amid the regional turmoil, ensuring that the kingdom would not become embroiled in external conflicts.

In marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Jordan and Japan, the ministers also explored ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries in various fields.