Iraqi official confirms US decision to reduce its forces in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Sep. 10 (YPA) – An Iraqi senior military official confirmed on Wednesday the United States ’announcement to reduce the number of its forces in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 soldiers according to agreement between the two parties.

“Reducing the number of the US forces comes within the agreement between the Iraqi government and the international coalition according to a timetable prepared between the two parties for the purpose of handing over the sites as well as withdrawal,” Major General Tahseen al-Khafaji, spokesman for the joint operations command in Iraq, said.

Earlier today, Commander of the US Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie, affirmed that the United States would sharply reduce the level of its military presence in Iraq this month, in the first step of its kind since 2016.

YPA