Iraq’s Parliament calls for removal of US troops from the country following drone attack

Iraq’s parliament has called for the expulsion of US troops from the country following the Friday morning killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani by a US drone strike, saying the killing goes against the resolution agreed between the US and Iraq that allows the presence of troops in the region, saying that American troops on Iraqi soil are purely for training Iraqi forces in the fight against ISIS.

“The Iraqi government has an obligation to end the presence of all foreign forces on Iraqi soil and prevent it from using Iraqi lands, waters, and airspace for any other reason,” Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halboosi said in an address to lawmakers before the vote.

About 180 of the lawmakers voted in favour of the resolution. Those who voted in favour were mostly Shiite lawmakers, but Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers avoided the session because they weren’t in favour of US troops removal.

U.S. troops, 5000, in Iraq are there on the invitation of the country’s Prime Minister (not Parliament), so it is up to the Iraqi Prime Minister to determine if the troops will be expelled and not the vote, which is non-binding.