Iraq, US agree on phased pullout of coalition troops

Iraq, US agree on phased pullout of coalition troops
This photo taken on January 27, 2024, shows Iraqi PM Mohamed Shia al-Sudani (C) presiding over a meeting between Iraqi military officials representatives of the US-led coalition in Baghdad. (AFP/File)
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Updated 09 September 2024
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Iraq, US agree on phased pullout of coalition troops

Iraq, US agree on phased pullout of coalition troops
  • Pullout to be completed from Bagdad and other parts of federal Iraq by September 2025 and from Kurdistan by September 2026, says Iraq defense chief
  • The US has some 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the international coalition against the Daesh group

BAGHDAD: Iraq and the United States have agreed on a phased pullout of the US-led anti-jihadist coalition but have yet to sign a final agreement, the Iraqi defense minister said Sunday.
The US has some 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the international coalition against the Daesh group.
They have been engaged in months of talks with Baghdad on a withdrawal of forces, but fell short of announcing any timeline so far.
On Sunday, Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet Al-Abbassi told pan-Arab television channel Al-Hadath that the coalition would pull out from bases in Baghdad and other parts of federal Iraq by September 2025 and from the autonomous northern Kurdistan region by September 2026.
The pullout is “two-phased” and “maybe we will sign the agreement within the next few days,” Abbassi said.
He added that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had said in a meeting that “two years were not enough” to carry out the withdrawal.
“We refused his proposal regarding an (extra) third year,” Abbassi said.
Coalition forces have been targeted dozens of times with drones and rocket fire in both Iraq and Syria, as violence related to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since early October has drawn in Iran-backed armed groups across the Middle East.
US forces have carried out multiple retaliatory strikes against these groups in both countries.
The Daesh group seized parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and was defeated by Baghdad three years later and in Syria in 2019.
But jihadist fighters continue to operate in remote desert areas although they no longer control any territory.
Iraqi security forces say they are capable of tackling Daesh remnants unassisted, as the group poses no significant threat.


Iran parliament speaker visits site of deadliest Israeli strike in central Beirut: AFP

Iran parliament speaker visits site of deadliest Israeli strike in central Beirut: AFP
Updated 13 sec ago
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Iran parliament speaker visits site of deadliest Israeli strike in central Beirut: AFP

Iran parliament speaker visits site of deadliest Israeli strike in central Beirut: AFP
  • Israeli air raid on Thursday night in the densely populated Basta area killed at least 22 people
  • Attack targeted the Iran-backed group’s security chief Wafiq Safa, but his fate remains unknown
BEIRUT: Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Saturday visited the site of the deadliest Israeli strike on central Beirut in recent weeks, accompanied by two Hezbollah lawmakers, an AFP photographer said.
A source close to Hezbollah has said that the air raid on Thursday night in the densely populated Basta area, which killed at least 22 people, had targeted the Iran-backed group’s security chief Wafiq Safa, but his fate remains unknown.

Russia, Syria, Iran should take measures after Israel’s strike on Damascus, Erdogan says

Russia, Syria, Iran should take measures after Israel’s strike on Damascus, Erdogan says
Updated 9 min 11 sec ago
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Russia, Syria, Iran should take measures after Israel’s strike on Damascus, Erdogan says

Russia, Syria, Iran should take measures after Israel’s strike on Damascus, Erdogan says
ISTANBUL: Russia, Syria and Iran should take more effective measures to protect Syria’s territorial integrity, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said, when asked about Israel’s recent strike on Damascus.
“We will defend an urgent and permanent peace in Syria...Israel is the most concrete threat to regional and global peace,” Erdogan said in an interview with Turkish media.
“It is essential that Russia, Iran and Syria take more effective measures against this situation, which poses the greatest threat to Syria’s territorial integrity,” according to a readout of the interview from the presidency.

Israeli military renews orders for Palestinians to leave northern Gaza

Israeli military renews orders for Palestinians to leave northern Gaza
Updated 14 min 8 sec ago
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Israeli military renews orders for Palestinians to leave northern Gaza

Israeli military renews orders for Palestinians to leave northern Gaza
  • People asked to head south to Muwasi, a packed area in southern Gaza designed as a humanitarian zone
  • Residents said they have been trapped inside their homes and shelters

The Israeli military on Saturday renewed its orders for Palestinian in the northern Gaza Strip to leave their homes and shelters as troops press on a weeklong offensive against militants.
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee told people to leave parts of Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and other areas in and around Jabaliya, the urban refugee camp where Israeli forces carried out several major operations over the course of the war and then returned as militants regroup.
In a post on X, Adraee asked people to head south to Muwasi, a packed area in southern Gaza designed by the military as a humanitarian zone.
Most of the fighting in the past week was centered in and around Jabaliya that was pounded by Israeli war jets and artillery. Residents said they have been trapped inside their homes and shelters. The military also ordered the three main hospitals in northern Gaza to evacuate patients and medical staff.
In Lebanon, authorities said Friday that 60 people were killed and 168 wounded in the past 24 hours, raising the total toll over the past year of conflict between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah to 2,229 dead and 10,380 wounded.
Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah with waves of heavy airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion at the border, after a year of exchanges of fire. Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hamas’ ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90 percent of its population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times.
It’s been a full year since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding about 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.


Israel army warns south Lebanon residents ‘not to return to homes’

Israel army warns south Lebanon residents ‘not to return to homes’
Updated 54 min 28 sec ago
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Israel army warns south Lebanon residents ‘not to return to homes’

Israel army warns south Lebanon residents ‘not to return to homes’
  • Israeli forces continue to “target Hezbollah posts in or near your villages”
  • Adraee reiterated an earlier call for health workers and medical teams in southern Lebanon to avoid using ambulances

BEIRUT: The Israeli military on Saturday warned residents of south Lebanon “not to return” to their homes as troops continued fighting Hezbollah militants in the area.
Israeli forces continue to “target Hezbollah posts in or near your villages,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X. “For your own protection, do not return to your homes until further notice. Do not go south; anyone who goes south may put his life at risk.”
In a separate post, Adraee reiterated an earlier call for health workers and medical teams in southern Lebanon to avoid using ambulances, claiming they are being used by Hezbollah fighters.
“We call on medical teams to avoid contact with Hezbollah members and not to cooperate with them,” he said.
“The IDF (Israeli military) affirms that the necessary actions will be taken against any vehicle transporting armed individuals, regardless of its type.”
Israel is engaged in a multi-front war as it continues to battle Palestinian militants in Gaza.
In recent days, the military has launched an intense ground and air assault in northern Gaza, particularly in and around the city of Jabalia.
On Saturday, Adraee called on residents of the area around Sheikh Radwan, south of Jabalia refugee camp, to evacuate.
“The specified area, including the shelters within it, is considered a dangerous combat zone,” Adraee said on X, ordering residents to move to the humanitarian zone in the southern part of the strip.


Hezbollah warns Israelis to stay away from army in residential areas

Hezbollah warns Israelis to stay away from army in residential areas
Updated 12 October 2024
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Hezbollah warns Israelis to stay away from army in residential areas

Hezbollah warns Israelis to stay away from army in residential areas
  • Israel has increased its strikes on Lebanon after almost a year of cross-border fire by Hezbollah
  • The escalation has killed more than 1,200 people and displaced around a million from their homes

BEIRUT, Lebanon: Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Friday warned Israelis to stay away from Israeli army sites in residential areas in the north of the country.
“The Israeli enemy army uses the homes” of Israelis in north Israel, and has military bases inside residential “neighborhoods in major occupied cities such as Haifa, Tiberias, Acre,” it said in a statement in Arabic and Hebrew.
It warned Israelis “from being near these military gatherings in order to preserve their lives.”
After almost a year of cross-border fire, Israel has increased its strikes on what it says are Lebanese militant group Hezbollah sites since September 23.
The escalation has killed more than 1,200 people and displaced around a million from their homes.
Hezbollah has repeatedly announced it has fired rockets at areas in northern Israel.