On Thursday, US President Donald Trump, during a White House news conference, said that the number of US troop stationed in Iraq would be cut down to approximately 2,000 in a very short period of time.
“Iraq will be down to about 2,000 soldiers in a very short period of time,” Trump stated.
A US official last month stated that in the two to three months the US would remove about 3,500 troops from Iraq.
Recently, US-led international coalition troops withdrew from Iraq’s Taji military base, which had constantly been hit by Iran-backed militia rockets targeting US-led troops.
After the US airstrike, led by the Trump administration, killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in 2019, Iraq’s parliament, this year, voted for the removal of foreign troops from the country which subsequently resulted in the withdrawal of the US and coalition troops.
Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to withdraw US troops still stationed in Iraq.
Over the years, there were around 5,000 US troops in Iraq and its coalition had a further 2,500 troops.