Yahya Rasul: Negotiations progressing well on International Coalition mission transfer

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Monday, Major General Yahya Rasul, Spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, confirmed that the joint committees addressing the new mission and role of the international coalition in Iraq have entered a new stage of negotiations.

The discussions focus on changing and transitioning the coalition's mission in the future.

As Rasul told the official Iraqi media, “We have a security and military agreement with the United States and deal with Washington within that agreement.”

He stressed that significant progress has been made in curbing attacks on U.S. forces and foreign advisers in Iraq. "Negotiations are progressing well on the International Coalition mission transfer," he stated.

His tone was quite different from the criticism he voiced a week ago, after the U.S. attack on Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi) in Jurf al-Sakhar, south of Baghdad.

Read More: Iraqi Armed Forces spox blames international coalition for attack on PMF HQ

On Tuesday night, US warplanes bombed an Iraqi militia group in the Jurf al-Sakhr area of Babylon province. Following the attack, Rasul called it a “dangerous and uncalculated violation” of Iraq’s sovereignty that could significantly undermine efforts, mechanisms, and joint security work to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

U.S. officials responded that the action had been taken in self-defense, as the militia members who had been struck were preparing a drone attack targeting U.S. forces.

Edited by Laurie Mylroie