News / Iraq

Anyone seeking to block parl. resolution on US troops’ pullout must be held accountable: Iraqi MP

Monday, 21 December 2020 5:00 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 21 December 2020 5:10 PM ]

US Army soldiers with their gear head to an awaiting bus on January 4, 2020 at Fort Bragg, N.C., as reinforcements in the aftermath of the assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani. (Photo by AP)

An Iraqi legislator has underlined that the parliament’s resolution calling for the withdrawal of all foreign military troops from the country is irreversible, stressing that anyone seeking to hamper the implementation of the decision must be held accountable.

“The blood of the martyred commanders of resistance would not be in vain and is the key to victory against terrorism and foreign plots. Our response to the killing is the expulsion of American occupier from Iraq,” Faleh al-Khazali, deputy chairman of the National Sanad (Support) Bloc, said in an exclusive interview with Iraq's Arabic-language al-Ahad news agency on Monday.

He noted, “Any procrastination or delay by the government in withdrawing American troops from Iraq represents disrespect to such commanders.”

“The Council of Representatives (parliament) is closely following up on the scheduled pullout of foreign forces, led by US troops, and we will work to hold accountable any party trying to block the parliament’s resolution,” Khazali highlighted.

Major Iraqi parliamentary bloc wants full withdrawal of US troops, not partial drawdown

A major political coalition in the Iraqi legislature rejects plans to reduce the number of US troops in the country, calling for the full withdrawal of the soldiers.

Anti-US sentiment has been running high in Iraq since the assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Units, along with their companions in a US terror drone strike authorized by President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport on January 3.

Iraqi lawmakers approved a bill two days later, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the country.

Currently, there are approximately 3,000 troops in Iraq.

Kata’a al-Rikabi, a member of the Security and Defense Committee in the Iraqi parliament, told Arabic-language al-Maalomah news agency on November 14 that the change in the US administration cannot impact the implementation of the resolution adopted by Iraq’s parliament concerning the withdrawal of US forces from the country.

“The Iraqi government must work out a schedule for the exit of US forces in coordination with the White House, no matter whether the incumbent administration is in office or [US President-elect Joe] Biden’s team,” he said at the time.

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