Tension is rising in Iraq. Affected by the repercussions of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, the country was targeted by an American drone strike which killed a leader of a pro-Iranian faction Thursday in Baghdad. This “act of self-defense”, according to Washington, provoked the anger of the Iraqi government which saw it as “aggression” by the international coalition. This Friday, the Iraqi Prime Minister reiterated his “firm” determination to put an end to the presence in Iraq of the international anti-jihadist coalition.
Mohamed Chia al-Soudani, whose government is supported by parties close to Iran, has already signaled in recent weeks his desire to see foreign troops deployed in Iraq leave the country. According to him, “the justifications for the existence of the international coalition have ended”. American troops and the international coalition, in place in Iraq since 2014 to fight against the Islamic State group, have themselves been the target of almost daily attacks in Iraq and Syria since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza in October.
Led by Washington, the international coalition includes several countries including France and Spain. It was created when ISIS jihadists controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria. As part of this coalition, Washington deploys 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and 900 in Syria. Baghdad declared military “victory” against ISIS in late 2017, but the organization still maintains cells in remote areas.