Iraq Pondering Definite End to Presence of Coalition Forces: PM

The Iraqi prime minister said his government is contemplating plans for an exact date for the closing down of the US-led international coalition's mission in the Arab country.

The Baghdad government is forming a committee to prepare the end of the US-led international coalition's mission in Iraq, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani's office said on Friday.

Sudani's statement came a day after a US strike killed a leader of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), commonly known as Hashd al-Shaabi, in Baghdad, prompting calls on the government to end the presence of the coalition in Iraq.

"Government is setting the date for the start of the bilateral committee to put arrangements to end the presence of the international coalition forces in Iraq permanently," a statement from the prime minister's office said, Reuters reported.

The committee would include representatives of the military coalition, a government official said.