iraq to the future

The United States is expected to reduce its troops presence in Iraq by about a third in the coming months, a U.S. official said on Friday, a move that had been expected after President Donald Trump's administration committed to a reduction recently

NATO is considering an increase to its training mission in Iraq to relieve the burden on the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, senior officials and diplomats said on Tuesday

Iraq's Defense Ministry says it has discussed the possibilities for deepening military cooperation with Russia, as ties between Baghdad and Washington fray following a U.S. air strike that killed a top Iranian general in the country

Iraq's military said on Thursday it was resuming operations with the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State which had mostly halted after bases hosting U.S. troops came under rocket attacks and a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian commander

The United States hopes to discuss the entire strategic framework of its relationship with Iraq soon, a U.S. envoy said on Tuesday, as the fate of a U.S. military mission there remains in doubt after a drone strike that killed an Iranian general

"We want them all out - America, Israel, and the corrupt politicians in government."

'In the time that I have been in Iraq, we've taken a couple of casualties from ISIS fighting on the ground, but most of the attacks have come from those Shia militia groups, who are launching rockets at our bases and frankly just trying to kill someone to make a point.'

Two Iraqi police officers were killed and dozens of protesters were wounded in Baghdad and other cities on Monday in clashes with security forces, medical and security sources said, as anti-government unrest resumed after a lull of several weeks

Washington rebuffed an Iraqi request on Friday to prepare to pull out its troops, amid heightened U.S.-Iranian tensions following the U.S. killing of an Iranian commander in Baghdad

On Thursday evening, the Pentagon confirmed that at the direction of President Donald Trump, U.S. forces killed Iranian general Qassim Suleimani in an air strike near Baghdad's airport, the most drastic step towards conflict with Iran of the 21st century

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday declared the world "a much safer place" following the death of top Iranian general Qassim Suleimani — just as the State Department urged Americans in Iraq to leave the country immediately out of fear of retaliation from Iran

Iran threatened to retaliate after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad on Friday killed Qassim Suleimani, commander of Iran's elite Quds Force and architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East.

Early Wednesday morning, Army paratroopers were ordered to the Middle East on short notice in response to efforts by Iran-backed militia members to breach the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The deployment also served as the debut of a revamped crisis response capability

New photos captured by the Associated Press reveal the extent of the damage caused to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad during the New Year's Eve assault by Iran-backed militia fighters

"We've alerted other forces,"  said Gen. Mark Milley chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "They haven't yet been decided to deploy. But there's a variety of forces that are alerted and prepared, if necessary, depending on the situation, as we move forward."

Thousands of Iraqi protestors stormed the front gates of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday in one of the most violent incursions into the compound in recent years

The U.S. ambassador to Iraq and other staff were evacuated from their embassy in Baghdad for their safety on Tuesday, Iraqi officials said, as thousands of protesters and militia fighters outside the gate denounced U.S. air strikes in Iraq

The U.S. military carried out air strikes on Sunday against the Kataib Hezbollah militia in response to the killing of a U.S. civilian contractor in a rocket attack on an Iraqi military base, officials said.

Several rockets were launched on Friday into Iraq's K1 military base, which houses U.S. and Iraqi forces near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, the Iraqi military said in a statement

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday he spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi amid a spate of attacks on bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and called on Baghdad to take steps to get the situation under control

"We're waiting for full evidence, but if past is prologue then there's a good chance that Iran was behind it"

Five rockets landed on Tuesday on Ain al-Asad airbase, which hosts U.S. forces in Anbar province in western Iraq, an Iraqi military statement said

A security source said the rockets landed near the Qayyara military base.

The 1,000 US troops leaving Syria will be allowed to stay in Iraq for at most four weeks, Iraq's defense minister said Wednesday, in an embarrassing rebuff to President Donald Trump's plans for withdrawing from Syria

Iran-backed militias deployed snipers on Baghdad rooftops during Iraq's deadliest anti-government protests in years, two Iraqi security officials told Reuters