US, Iraq to initiate talks on end of U.S-led military coalition

The United States and Iraq are set to initiate talks on the end of a U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq and how to replace it with bilateral relations, four sources said on Wednesday, a step forward in a process that was stalled by the Gaza war. In doing so, the U.S. had dropped pre-conditions that attacks against it by Iran-backed Iraqi militant groups in Iraq first stop, three of the sources said.

The United States and Iraq are set to initiate talks on the end of a U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq and how to replace it with bilateral relations, four sources said on Wednesday, a step forward in a process that was stalled by the Gaza war.

In doing so, the U.S. had dropped pre-conditions that attacks against it by Iran-backed Iraqi militant groups in Iraq first stop, three of the sources said. Two sources said the U.S. conveyed its readiness to initiate the talks to the Iraqi government in a letter handed over by U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski to Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Wednesday.

Iraq's foreign ministry reported that an "important" letter had been handed over and would be studied carefully by the prime minister, without giving further details. The talks are expected to take several months if not longer, with the outcome unclear and no U.S. troop withdrawal imminent.

The U.S. has 2,500 troops in Iraq, advising and assisting local forces to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large parts of both countries before being defeated.