Oct 22, 2019

Iraqi military says U.S. troops cannot stay in Iraq

Jacob Knutson

A military convoy of US forces makes its way through Erbil, Iraq. Photo: Yunus Keles/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The Iraqi military on Tuesday said U.S. troops leaving Syria and heading to neighboring Iraq do not have permission to remain in the country, the AP reports.

Why it matters: The denial contradicts U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper's Oct. 20 statement that all the nearly 1,000 U.S. troops leaving Syria will continue to fight against the Islamic State, or ISIS, from western Iraq.

Details: However, the Iraqi military said U.S. troops that left Syria can enter northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region but that they will have to relocate out of Iraq eventually.

Go deeper: Trump's Syria strategy: Get out, but "keep the oil"

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Iraqi military says U.S. troops cannot stay in Iraq

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