US and Iraq to Engage in Bilateral Cooperation Against ISIS

The United States and Iraq are set to begin negotiations on transitioning to bilateral cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group. This was stated in a declaration by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, disseminated by the Pentagon's press service.

According to Austin's statement, in the coming days, the US and Iraq will commence meetings of working groups under the Supreme Military Commission. This will "ensure a transition to a stable bilateral security partnership," based on the successes of Iraq's campaign against ISIS.

Experts in the working groups expect to develop the "most effective path for the evolution of the coalition," aiming to "never allow the resurgence of the Islamic State." On January 5, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani stated that the justifications for the presence of international coalition forces have been exhausted, and Baghdad intends to take concrete steps to end the presence of foreign military personnel in the country. This follows the previous day's drone strike, which killed one of the commanders of the Shiite group Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Abu Takva, in the capital, where at least six others were wounded.