CAMP TAJI, Iraq (Reuters) – Leading international coalition troops withdrew from the Taji military base in Iraq on Sunday, handing it over to Iraqi security forces, Reuters witnesses and the coalition said.
The base, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, was the site of frequent Iranian-backed rocket attacks by Iranians aimed at US leadership in recent months.
“The coalition’s movement of coalition personnel is part of a long-range plan coordinated with the Iraqi government,” the coalition said in a statement, adding that Camp Taji has historically held up to 2,000 coalition members, most of whom are this summer gone.
Resting coalition troops will leave in the coming days after finalizing the transfer of equipment to Iraqi security forces, it added.
This was the eighth transfer of a coalition member from an Iraqi base back to Iraqi troops, it said.
The withdrawal came days after US President Donald Trump doubled his commitment to withdraw the few US troops still in the country. The United States has stationed about 5,000 troops in the country and coalition allies a further 2,500.
The Iraqi parliament had voted this year for the departure of foreign troops from Iraq and the US and other coalition troops have left as part of a drawdown.
The vote came after a U.S. airstrike on Baghdad airport killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Report by Maher Nazeh and Thaier al-Sudani; Written by Ahmed Aboulenein; Edited by Raissa Kasolowsky and David Goodman
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