U.S. raid entails withdrawal of foreign force: Iraqi militia chief

A man waves a flag bearing portraits of slain top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani (R) and slain Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis during a demonstration commemorating the second anniversary of their killing in Baghdad, January 1, 2022. /CFP

An Iraqi militia chief on Sunday urged the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq during a protest commemorating the second anniversary of the death of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike at Baghdad's airport.

The assassination on June 3, 2020, in which the deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was also killed, "imposed a new reality that the demand for the withdrawal of foreign forces cannot be delayed," said Falih al-Fayadh, head of the Iraqi Hashd Shaabi forces.

What we know about Soleimani's death

The airstrike two years ago sparked tension and reprisal attacks between Iran and the United States on Iraqi soil.

Two days after the airstrike, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country.

On December 29, 2021, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi confirmed the end of the U.S.-led coalition forces' combat mission in Iraq after the withdrawal of the forces from the country.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency