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US to end combat mission in Iraq by end of year

Kadhimi is facing mounting pressures at home from hardline Shia factions who demand all US troops to leave the country, reports Asian Lite News

President Joe Biden said on Monday that American forces in Iraq will end the combat mission by the end of the year while continuing to train and assist Iraqi forces.

“Our role in Iraq will be… continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS (Islamic State) as it rises, but we’re not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” Biden said at the beginning of a meeting in the Oval Office with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

“Our counter-terrorism cooperation will continue even as we shift to this new phase,” he said.

Al-Kadhimi told a leading media outlet ahead of the visit that there is no need for any foreign combat forces staying in Iraq.

“What we want from the US presence in Iraq is to support our forces in training and developing their efficiency and capabilities, and in security cooperation,” he said.

There are now around 2,500 US troops in Iraq. White House Press Secretary on Monday declined to provide the number of troops staying in Iraq at the end of the year.

Media said the move may not lead to a significant reduction of US military presence in Iraq, given most of the American troops in the country have already been taking training and advising roles for the Iraqi forces.

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The two countries agreed to shift US troops’ mission back in April, but no timeline for the transition had been set at the time.

Analysts noted that the Iraqi leader faced mounting pressures at home from hardline Shia factions who demand all US troops to leave the country. This shift in the mission of US troops could be seen as a political gain for al-Kadhimi ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

The US troops withdrew from Iraq in 2011, eight years after the US-led invasion. US troops returned to the country in 2014 to support the Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State militants.

Immediately after the deaths of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US airstrike at Baghdad airport in Jan. 2020, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in Iraq.

Iraqi military bases housing US troops across the country and the US embassy in the Green Zone in central Baghdad have been frequently targeted by rocket and drone attacks from Iran-backed Shia militias.

The US military launched retaliatory airstrikes against Shia militants in Syria and Iraq this February and June, only leading to a cycle of more attacks and reprisals.

Earlier this month, up to 14 rockets hit Al-Assad Air Base housing US-led coalition forces in Iraq’s western province of Anbar, causing two minor injuries.

ALSO READ: Drone attacks Iraq base hosting US troops

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Biden to meet Iraqi PM in Washington on July 26

President Joe Biden during a press briefing (Source witter@POTUS)

The visit will highlight the strategic partnership between the two countries and advance bilateral cooperation…reports Asian Lite News

President Joe Biden will host Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the White House on July 26, the White House said.

The visit will highlight the strategic partnership between the two countries and advance bilateral cooperation under a 2008 agreement that governed the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

Psaki listed areas of shared interest such as energy and health and said Biden looked forward to strengthening cooperation with Iraq on “security issues to include joint efforts to ensure the enduring defeat” of the Islamic State militant group.

Psaki made no reference to Iran, which exercises influence in neighboring Iraq through its close relations with the Baghdad government and by backing Shi’ite militia forces that mount attacks on military facilities hosting U.S. forces.

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander urged Iraqi Shi’ite militias to step up attacks on U.S. targets during a meeting in Baghdad last week, three militia sources and two Iraqi security sources familiar with the gathering said.

The meeting comes even as there has been an increasing number of attacks on US troops in Iraq. Last week, six Katyusha rockets hit a military air base housing US-led coalition forces in Iraq’s western province of Anbar.

Ayn al-Asad Air Base, formerly known as al-Qadisiyah, is located some 190 km northwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The Iraqi military bases housing US troops across Iraq and the American embassy in Baghdad have been frequently targeted by mortar and rocket attacks.

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IS attack kills 4 Iraqi soldiers

The attack triggered a fierce clash that resulted in the killing of the four Iraqi soldiers…reports Asian Lite News

 Four Iraqi soldiers were killed in an attack staged by militants of the Islamic State (IS) terror group in the northern province of Kirkuk, a police source said.

The attack took place on Saturday when IS militants opened fire on an army outpost in a village near the al-Dibis area northwest of the namesake provincial capital Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua news agency.

The attack triggered a fierce clash that resulted in the killing of the four Iraqi soldiers, he said.

Iraqi security forces arrived at the scene and launched a search for the attackers in the nearby rugged area.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.

However, IS remnants have since retreated into deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.

ALSO READ: Series of attacks target US personnel in Iraq, Syria

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Series of attacks target US personnel in Iraq, Syria

Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran vowed to retaliate after U.S. strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border killed four of their members last month….reports Asian Lite News

US diplomats and troops in Iraq and Syria were targeted in three rocket and drone attacks in the past 24 hours, US and Iraq officials said on Wednesday, including at least 14 rockets hitting an Iraqi air base hosting US forces, wounding two American service members.

While there were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks – part of a wave targeting U.S. troops or areas where they are based in Iraq and Syria – analysts believed they were part of a campaign by Iranian-backed militias.

Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran vowed to retaliate after U.S. strikes on the Iraqi-Syrian border killed four of their members last month.

Two people were slightly wounded in the rocket attack on the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, said coalition spokesman U.S. Army Colonel Wayne Marotto. The rockets landed on the base and its perimeter. He said earlier that three people were wounded.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two personnel injured were U.S. service members. One suffered a concussion and the other had minor cuts, one of the officials added.

Two rockets were fired at the U.S. Embassy inside Baghdad’s Green Zone early on Thursday, Iraqi security sources told Reuters.

The embassy’s anti-rocket system diverted one of the rockets, said one of the sources – a security official whose office is inside the Green Zone. The second rocket fell near the zone’s perimeter, security officials said.

Sirens blared from the embassy compound inside the zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions, the sources said.

In Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said no damage was done by a drone attack on the Al Omar oil field in an eastern area bordering Iraq where U.S. forces came under rocket fire but escaped injury on June 28.

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The Pentagon said a drone had been brought down in eastern Syria and that no U.S. service members had been injured and there had not been any damage.

Iraqi army officials said the pace of recent attacks against bases hosting U.S. forces with rockets and explosive-laden drones was unprecedented.

Iraqi military sources said a rocket launcher fixed on the back of a truck was used in Wednesday’s attack and was found on nearby farmland set on fire.

On Tuesday, a drone attacked Erbil airport in northern Iraq, targeting a U.S. base on the airport grounds, Kurdish security sources said.

Three rockets also landed on Ain al-Asad on Monday without causing casualties.

The United States has been holding indirect talks with Iran aimed at bringing both nations back into compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was abandoned by then-President Donald Trump. No date has been set for a next round of the talks, which adjourned on June 20.

Hamdi Malik, an associate fellow at the Washington Institute and a specialist on Iraq’s Shi’ite militias, said the attacks were part of a coordinated escalation by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

The attempt to strike in eastern Syria appeared to be the first example of operations being carried out simultaneously in both countries.

“It seems to me they have the green light from Iran to escalate, especially given that the nuclear negotiations are not going well. But at the same time, they do not want to escalate beyond a certain point – they are more vulnerable to U.S. air strikes than they used to be – and they don’t want to overcomplicate the negotiations Iran is holding with the West.”

The United States told the U.N. Security Council last week that it targeted Iranian-backed militia in Syria and Iraq with air strikes to deter them and Tehran from conducting or supporting further attacks on U.S. personnel or facilities.

Iran denied supporting attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and condemned U.S. air strikes on Iranian-backed groups.

ALSO READ: Air strike near Syria-Iraq border kills 5 militia fighters

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Donald Rumsfeld, architect of Iraq War, dead at 88

Former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dies.(photo:instagram)

He had been the youngest person ever to become defense secretary in 1975 at the age of 43 and, when tapped by Bush, became the oldest at the time…report Asian Lite News

Donald Rumsfeld, the cocksure and unrepentant defense secretary who led the United States into war in Iraq and Afghanistan, has died, his family announced Wednesday. He was 88.

In charge of the US military for most of George W. Bush’s presidency, Rumsfeld was stubborn and brash, famously dismissing widespread looting after US troops captured Baghdad by quipping, “Stuff happens.”

For millions who took to the streets to denounce the war in Iraq, Rumsfeld and vice president Dick Cheney were emblematic of what was seen as excesses in Bush’s “war on terror,” including the indefinite detention of suspects in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the abuse of Iraqis by US jailers at Abu Ghraib prison.

The former congressman’s brand of hawkish politics eventually fell from favour as politicians from both sides turned on “forever wars,” and the troops he first sent to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks will make their final withdrawal weeks after his death.

His family said that Rumsfeld — who after resigning in 2006 not only spent years defending his legacy but also dabbling in software and even releasing a solitaire app — died in Taos, New Mexico, and described “the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to the country.”

Bush called his defense secretary, whom he defiantly kept in his cabinet until rival Democrats won control of Congress in 2006, “an exemplary public servant and a very good man.”

“He was a faithful steward of our armed forces, and the United States of America is safer and better off for his service,” Bush said, without directly mentioning the decision to invade Iraq.

Rumsfeld had clamored to remove Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, pushing soon after the fall of Afghanistan’s Taliban to move into Iraq, where he suggested there were weapons of mass destruction and perhaps links to terrorist groups.

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Asked in 2002 about the lack of evidence, Rumsfeld gave perhaps his most memorable statement.

“Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know,” he said.

“We also know there are known unknowns — that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”

Lieutenant Donald Rumsfeld (right, standing) during his service with the United States Navy(wikipedia)

A consummate bureaucratic infighter, Rumsfeld was one of the longest serving defense secretaries in US history, holding the position for more than seven years in stints both under Bush and, more than 20 years earlier, Gerald Ford.

Born in Chicago, Rumsfeld showed his combative streak from an early age, becoming an accomplished wrestler and playing as a defensive back on an American football team when he went to Princeton University.

He served as a pilot and flight instructor in the Navy during the early days of the Cold War before being elected to Congress at the age of only 30.

Representing Illinois, Rumsfeld was initially known for his moderation and supported civil rights measures for African-Americans. But he quickly turned his attention to military affairs and became deeply concerned about the conduct of the Vietnam War.

He had been the youngest person ever to become defense secretary in 1975 at the age of 43 and, when tapped by Bush, became the oldest at the time, seen as a steady presence for an untested president.

He was in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 when airliners commandeered by Al-Qaeda hijackers flew into the World Trade Center in New York and then the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist attack ever on US soil.

President George W. Bush, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz in March 2003(wikipedia)

In less than a month, he launched US forces in a war against Al-Qaeda that toppled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in December 2001 and redesigned the military for the “war on terrorism,” pulling back forces ready for traditional combat in Europe.

Many Americans embraced his tough-guy persona during the Afghan war, but it faded in the lead-up to Iraq.

Just weeks before the invasion, Rumsfeld dismissed a warning by the army chief of staff that several hundred thousand troops were required to occupy Iraq, calling the estimate “far from the mark.”

In remarks that would prove prophetic, Rumsfeld told reporters it was “not knowable” how many troops would be needed, saying they did not “have any idea whether or not there would be ethnic strife.”

The United States invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003 with a force of fewer than 100,000 troops. Baghdad fell quickly, and Saddam’s regime collapsed amid an orgy of looting.

@RumsfeldOffice

But the failure to commit enough troops to secure the country became viewed as a central mistake, leading to intense civil war in which hundreds of thousands of civilians died.

With Saddam’s Baath Party disbanded, Sunni Muslims launched an insurgency that would later be the root of the brutal Islamic State group as the majority Shiites took the reins of power with backing from Iran.

Rumsfeld long defended the war. But in his memoir, “Known and Unknown,” he regretted that Bush did not accept his resignation after pictures emerged of prison abuse in Abu Ghraib, saying he had become a “dangerous distraction.”

“More than anything else I have failed to do, and even amid my pride in the many important things we did accomplish, I regret that I did not leave at that point.”

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US welcomes Baghdad summit

Iraqi President Barham Salih (R) meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Baghdad. (Xinhua_Khalil Dawood_IANS)

US State Department called this visit an important step in strengthening regional economic and security ties….reports Asian Lite News

The United States has welcomed the visit of Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi to Iraq, calling it an important step towards boosting relations between Amman, Cairo and Baghdad.

US State Department called this visit an important step in strengthening regional economic and security ties.

“The United States welcomes today’s historic visit to Baghdad by the President of Egypt and King of Jordan. This visit is an important step in strengthening regional economic and security ties between Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan and to advance regional stability,” the State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Sunday.

The visit of the two leaders to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi was held under the mechanism that was launched in March 2019, Sputnik reported. This has been the first visit of an Egyptian president to Iraq within the past three decades.

During the summit, the leaders agreed to intensify the cooperation between them in view of the challenges faced by the Middle East region.

Sundays meeting “is an important message to our people that we are mutually supportive and unified to serve our people and the people of the region”, a statement of al-Kadhimi’s media office quoted him as saying.

Iraqi President Barham Salih (R) meets with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in Baghdad (XinhuaKhalil DawoodIANS)

He said that the most important challenges facing the three countries are the Covid-19 pandemic, difficult economic conditions, security and terrorism, according to the statement.

Calling on the three countries to unify their stances, Al-Kadhimi said: “we will continue to coordinate on major regional issues, such as the Syrian, Libyan, Yemeni and Palestinian files, to assist our brothers in these countries to bypass the challenges and crises.”

He noted that the three countries are in the stage of implementing projects in the fields of electrical interconnection, agriculture, transportation, and food security, as well as in the development of infrastructure in financial and banking relations, the statement said.

Later in the day, a statement issued after the meeting said that the three leaders agreed to cooperate and coordinate in various areas, including the electrical interconnection and linking gas transport networks between Iraq and Egypt via Jordan, as well as building an oil pipeline connecting the Iraqi oil-hub of Basra to the Jordanian port of Aqaba.

The statement added that Iraq and Jordan support Egypt’s stance on the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River.

It stressed the need to activate efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace that meets all legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish their independent state. (ANI/IANS)

ALSO READ: Air strike near Syria-Iraq border kills 5 militia fighters

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Air strike near Syria-Iraq border kills 5 militia fighters

The US military said it targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, reports Asian Lite News

US strikes on eastern Syria near the border with Iraq killed at least five Iran-backed militia fighters, a war monitor reported on Monday.

“At least 5 Iran-backed Iraqi militia fighters were killed and several others were wounded in an attack by US warplanes” on the Syrian side of the frontier, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The war monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria to collect information, said that military positions were among the targets hit.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency said one child had been killed, and that at least three other people were wounded.

The US Defense Department on Sunday said it carried out another round of air strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, this time in response to drone attacks by the militia against US personnel and facilities in Iraq.

In a statement, the US military said it targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq. It did not disclose whether it believed anyone was killed or injured but officials said assessments were ongoing.

The strikes came at the direction of President Joe Biden, the second time he has ordered retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militia since taking office five months ago. Biden last ordered limited strikes in Syria in February, that time in response to rocket attacks in Iraq.

“As demonstrated by this evening’s strikes, President Biden has been clear that he will act to protect US personnel,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

The facilities were used by militia groups, including Kataeb Hezbollah and Kataeb Sayyid Al-Shuhada, two hard-line Iraqi military factions with close ties to Tehran, the Pentagon added.

“These facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against US personnel and facilities in Iraq,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

US interests in Iraq have come under repeated attack in recent months, with the United States consistently blaming Iran-linked Iraqi factions for rocket and other attacks against Iraqi installations housing its personnel.

In February, US strikes on facilities in east Syria used by Iran-backed militia groups left more than 20 fighters dead, according to the Observatory.

The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops.

The strikes came even as Biden’s administration is looking to potentially revive a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The strikes appear to show Biden’s efforts to compartmentalize defensive strikes to protect American personnel, while simultaneously engaging Tehran in diplomacy.

His critics say Iran cannot be trusted and point to the drone attacks as further evidence that Iran and its proxies will never accept a US military presence in Iraq or Syria.

Biden and the White House declined comment on the strikes on Sunday.

US officials believe Iran is behind a ramp-up in drone attacks and periodic rocket fire against US personnel and facilities in Iraq, where the US military has been helping Baghdad combat the remnants of Islamic State.

Two US officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Iran-backed militias carried out at least five drone attacks against facilities used by US and coalition personnel in Iraq since April.

The Pentagon said the facilities targeted were used by Iran-backed militia including Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada.

One of the facilities targeted was used to launch and recover the drones, a defense official said.

The US military carried out strikes with F-15 and F-16 aircraft, officials said, adding the pilots made it back from the mission safely.

“We assess each strike hit the intended targets,” one of the officials told Reuters.

Iraq’s government is struggling to deal with militias ideologically aligned with Iran which are accused of rocket fire against US forces and of involvement in killing peaceful pro-democracy activists.

Earlier in June, Iraq released Iran-aligned militia commander Qasim Muslih, who was arrested in May on terrorism-related charges, after authorities found insufficient evidence against him.

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2 drones shot down above Iraq base housing US troops

2 drones shot down above Iraq base housing US troops

The US military’s C-RAM defence system was activated to shoot down the drones above the Ain al-Assad base, located in Iraq’s western desert…reports Asian Lite News

The Iraqi army said Sunday two drones were destroyed above a base housing US troops, one month after the same base was targeted by an armed drone.

The US military’s C-RAM defence system was activated to shoot down the drones above the Ain al-Assad base, located in Iraq’s western desert, the Iraqi military said.

Several hours earlier a rocket was shot down above Baghdad airport, “without causing casualties or damage,” said Colonel Wayne Marotto, spokesman for the US-led military coalition in Iraq.

The coalition was sent to Iraq to help the country’s military fight the Daesh jihadist group — a campaign that Baghdad declared won in late 2017.

The US consistently blames Iran-linked Iraqi factions for rocket attacks against Iraqi installations housing its personnel.

Since the start of this year there have been 39 attacks against US interests in Iraq.

The vast majority have been bombs against logistics convoys, while 14 were rocket attacks, some of them claimed by pro-Iran factions, who aim to pressure Washington into withdrawing all their troops.

The use of drones against American interests by these factions is a relatively new tactic, although the US military has previously accused pro-Iran Iraqi groups of helping Yemen’s Huthi rebels carry out attacks using such devices against Saudi interests.

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US, Iraq agree to redeploy troops

Kurdish security forces, known as Peshmerga, assemble outside the town of Bashiqah, some 30 km northeast of Mosul, Iraq

The decision was made following the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein, while the US side was headed by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken…reports Asian Lite News

The US and Iraq have agreed to redeploy the remaining Washington-led coalition combat troops outside the war-torn country to contribute in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terror group, an official statement said.

The joint statement issued on Wednesday said the decision was made following the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, Xinhua news agency.

The Iraqi delegation was led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein, while the US side was headed by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

The strategic dialogue via video teleconference, which was held in accordance with the Strategic Framework Agreement signed in 2008 between the two sides, also covered security and counter-terrorism, economics and energy, political issues, and cultural relations, according to the statement.

It said the two sides “reaffirmed their mutual intention to continue bilateral security coordination and cooperation”, stressing that the redeployment of the US and coalition forces is based on “the increasing capacity of the Iraqi forces”.

Also read:Khamenei calls on US to leave Iraq, Syria

“The mission of US and coalition forces has now transitioned to one focused on training and advisory tasks, thereby allowing for the redeployment of any remaining combat forces from Iraq, with the timing to be established in upcoming technical talks,” the statement added.

The Iraqi government in turn committed to protecting the international coalition personnel, convoys, and diplomatic facilities, it said, adding that the two sides emphasised that the current military bases, on which US and coalition personnel are present, are Iraqi bases and their presence is only for supporting Iraq’s efforts in the fight against the IS group.

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The relation between Baghdad and Washington strained after January 3, 2020, when an American drone struck a convoy at Baghdad airport, which killed Qasem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq’s paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces.

The Iraqi parliament passed a resolution on January 5, 2020, requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in Iraq.

Fuad HusseinMinister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Iraq(Twitter)

The US airstrike also pushed unidentified militias to launch a series of rocket and mortar attacks on Iraqi military bases housing US troops across Iraq, as well as the American embassy in the Green Zone in central Baghdad.

The tension pushed the two sides to launch sessions of strategic dialogue starting from last June 12, and the US pledged to cut its troops in the country.

The US-led coalition forces have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against IS militants, mainly providing training and advising to the Iraqi forces.

Also read:Iran-Iraq border to be closed till April

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Iran-Iraq border to be closed till April

On February 20, Iran closed several crossing points with Iraq to stem the spread of a new coronavirus variant…reports Asian Lite News.

While the coronavirus pandemic has continued to impact people of  all strata, as earlier borders are about to shut down. The border points between Iran and Iraq will be closed for passengers until April 4 in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, a top government official said here

The announcement was made on Wednesday by Hossein Qasemi, Director-General of Border Affairs of Iranian Interior Ministry, Xinhua news agency reported.

The decision was taken by the National Headquarters for Fighting Coronavirus following the request of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Qasemi told the media.

However, if there are Iranian nationals in Iraq who want to return, or if Iraqi nationals in Iran want to go back to their country, they can cross the border, he said.

Also, border crossing for traders, contractors and engineering activities would be possible after necessary evaluations, he added.

On February 20, Iran closed several crossing points with Iraq to stem the spread of a new coronavirus variant.

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