Iraqi MPs call for expelling coalition forces

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Around 100 members of the Iraqi parliament have signed on a petition calling for issuing a binding resolution to expel forces of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) from the country, labeling the foreign presence as a “threat” to Iraqi security.

The Iraqi government has recently been under mounting pressure to expel the international coalition forces from the country, following a series of American retaliatory strikes targeting bases of state-linked militia groups.

Faleh al-Khazali, a Shiite MP, announced on Sunday that they have collected nearly 100 signatures from MPs calling for the expulsion of the coalition forces and expediting their exit.

“Given the great victories achieved by the Iraqi people… and with the presence of one million and 600 thousand security personnel, there is no longer any justification for the presence of foreign forces,” said Khazali during a presser.

The Shiite lawmaker said that the coalition has not respected Iraq’s sovereignty and has escalated its “violations” in the country, starting from the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi deputy Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in 2020, to the recent strikes against government-sponsored armed groups.

The coalition forces “have become a threat to Iraq’s societal security and peace,” Khazali added.

Iran-aligned militias have struck bases of the international coalition in Iraq and Syria with rockets and drones over 100 times since October 17, against the backdrop of Washington’s support for Israel in its war on the Gaza Strip.

US forces have responded with several retaliatory strikes, targeting militia groups they blame for the attacks. The Iraqi government has strongly condemned American retaliatory attacks, which have killed at least 11, calling them a “violation” of its sovereignty as it targets state security forces.

In January 2020, angry over the US killing of Soleimani and Muhandis, the Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution to expel all foreign forces.

The parliament’s First Deputy Speaker Muhsin al-Mandalawi said on Saturday that the legislature’s resolution “has the acceptance of the Iraqi people,” urging the Iraqi federal government to implement the decision.

Thousands of foreign military personnel are stationed in Iraq as part of the international coalition which has assisted Kurdish and Iraqi forces in the fight against ISIS and has continued to provide training and advice to the armed groups since the militant group’s territorial defeat in 2017.