Jens Stoltenberg: NATO troops staying in Iraq. PM Ababi gave greenlight to stay

NATO forces are staying in Iraq at the country's request, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said during a rare visit on Monday to Baghdad, after parliament called for a foreign troop pullout.


"We are here because Iraq wants us to be here. We are not here without the consent and without an invitation from Iraq," Stoltenberg told AFP news agency on Monday.

"We should not stay longer than necessary, we will train the trainers as long as necessary to make sure IS [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] does not reemerge."

Stoltenberg's comments come days after the Iraqi parliament called for the government to draw up a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

"The Iraqi parliament expresses its gratitude to all countries which have supported Iraq in its fight against Daesh [ISIL] and calls for the government to draw up a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops," it said in a statement.
  [aljazeera.com]
 5/3/18