BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi counter-terror forces held a military drill in Baghdad on Saturday, staging a military exercise mobilizing the response to militant attacks.
The drill comes as the US combat troops withdraw from Ain al-Asaad and Harir military bases in the country, according to Iraqi officials.
However, a top Iraqi military leader said the forces will continue to need the US-led coalition’s support to combat Islamic State (ISIS) remnants and other extremist groups
“Even during the liberation battle [fighting Islamic State], there were no ground troops other than the Iraqi forces. But for training and military needs, and exchange of intelligence on the terrorist groups, we will all need to be involved to annihilate terrorists, because the fight against terror is a global fight,” Abdul Wahab al-Saadi, head of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Services (ICTS) told Rudaw.
However, Iran-backed parties affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi) describe America’s withdrawal decision from Iraq as a scenario.
The Iraqi army says the US forces will focus on high-level advisory work in the country.
The American forces will not have any direct combat role on the ground, but that their advisors will be here for training, intelligence missions and some other kinds of work,” Spokesperson for the Joint Operations Command Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji said.
ISIS launched 206 attacks in areas disputed between Baghdad and Erbil, killing 837 people in the first 11 months of the year.
The ICTS say they will be coordinating with the Peshmerga and Kurdish counter-terror forces to halt ISIS threats.
“We have persistent coordination with Kurdistan, especially in terms of exchanging intelligence with the Asayish [internal security forces] and counterterror forces in Sulaimani and Erbil. We have made progress in the direction of the works with each other. In the future, God willing, we will be having more joint efforts and operations following consultations and detecting locations where we deem necessary to conduct operations, especially in places where the terrorist groups are active,” ICTS Spokesperson Sabah al-Numan said.
There are 10,000 active militants in Iraq and Syria according to UN reports, exploiting security vacuums in on their borders
