Iraq Defence Official Says US Troops Not Involved in Any Military Operations
20:16 24.04.2019(updated 21:24 24.04.2019)
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The US troops in Iraq only assist the country's army in fighting Daesh* and do not carry out any military operations, Muhammad Abadi, general secretary of the Iraqi Defense Ministry, told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"Actually when the military mission is completed and finished – sure, the US military units will leave Iraq. But now there are some people from the US army in Iraq, and they work advising us, training and like this, but there is no fighting … The Daesh is not finished forever. There are some groups of Daesh working and both [Iraqi and Syrian] armies are fighting them. And inside Iraq mission of the US army is to assist and support Iraqi army, but not fighting," Abadi said on the sidelines of the Conference on International Security (MCIS) in Moscow.
Iraq has long been suffering from activities of various terrorist groups. In 2014, vast territories of the Middle Eastern state were occupied by Daesh. The Iraqi army has successfully fought back against Daesh over the past year. In December, then Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi declared an end to the country's fight against Daesh, as Iraqi troops re-established complete control over the country's Syrian border.
*Daesh (also known as IS, ISIS, ISIL) is a terrorist group banned in numerous countries, including Russia
© Sputnik
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