AP: US to begin withdrawing troops from bases in Iraq after presidential election

The U.S. will begin withdrawing troops from some military bases in Iraq after the presidential election in November.

The Associated Press reported that.

‘After the November elections, U.S. troops will begin withdrawal from the airbase Ain al-Asad in western Iraq and from the international airport in Baghdad,’ – says the agency, citing a source in the Iraqi government.

It is noted that part of the armed forces will move to the Harir base in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.

‘The withdrawal is due to the fact that a significant part of the political community in Baghdad does not want U.S. troops on Iraqi soil,’ Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute think tank in Washington, told the agency.

According to the Associated Press, there are now about 2,500 US troops in Iraq.

Earlier, the US announced the end of the international mission in Iraq.