Source: AFP
BAGHDAD — The US military closed its north Iraq division on Thursday, leaving 18 bases in the country ahead of a year-end pullout, with Baghdad and Washington still at an impasse over a future troop deal.
The closure of US Division-North was the latest in an operation to reduce Washington’s troop presence in Iraq, with 39,500 American soldiers currently stationed in the country, all of whom must leave in around two months.
North Iraq includes a tract of disputed territory which local authorities want to incorporate into their three-province autonomous Kurdish region, in the face of strong opposition from the central government in Baghdad.
Categories: Iraq, United States