American soldiers to leave Iraq after fighting IS
(VOVWORLD) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says US military forces will not stay on in Iraq once government forces retake swathes of land from the Islamic State.
 US soldiers are seen near an Iraqi army base on the outskirts of Mosul, on November 23, 2016. (Photo by AFP) |
Abadi, in a statement released on Friday, announced that there are no foreign combat troops on Iraqi soil, but there are military advisers and experts from a number of countries.
The statement further dismissed the Associated Press report on talks between Iraq and the United States on maintaining American forces in the country.
The Pentagon has maintained 7,000 soldiers in Iraq, a sharp decline compared with the record number of 170,000 in 2007.