Iraqi Kurds reject push for new law to force out US-led troops

Senior members of the two dominant parties in Iraq’s Kurdish region have criticised moves under way in the Iraqi Parliament to pass a law to force US troops to leave the country.

The dispute highlights the challenge facing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani to reach national consensus on the issue.

Iraq announced the end of combat operations by US-led coalition forces at the end of 2021. But about 2,500 US troops remain to assist and advise local forces in fighting ISIS remnants.

Since the Israel-Gaza war began in October, Mr Al Sudani has faced growing pressure from Iran-backed Shiite militias and political factions to expel US forces.

Baghdad and Washington have held at least two rounds of talks since late last month to end the presence of US-led coalition forces in Iraq.

Shiite factions, who make up the majority in parliament, have been pushing for a law to force the departure.

But Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of two main parties sharing power in the Iraqi Kurdish region, warned that the threat from ISIS remained despite its military defeat in late 2017.

A request for the law, backed by at least 100 MPs, was referred to parliament’s legal and defence committees

“All Iraqi components must realise that the threat of terrorism and its reappearance remains valid,” Mr Barzani told the US charge d’affaires, David Burger, during a meeting on Wednesday.

He said that the “interests, stability and security of all Iraqi regions and components must be taken into consideration”.

The issue is “not within the jurisdiction of the Parliament”, said Mr Barzani, who also served as president of the three-province Iraqi Kurdish region until 2017.

It “must be kept away from the political bidding and regional equations to preserve Iraq’s interests”, he said.

His remarks echoed those of Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq’s Kurdish region, who is linked to the KDP’s rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

“I see that we are not in post-ISIS period yet and it is still there and poses a threat,” Mr Talabani told a conference in the region late last month.

Last Saturday a request for the law, backed by at least 100 MPs in the 329-member assembly, was referred to parliament’s legal and security and defence Committees. Kurdish and Sunni legislators were absent.