US troop drawdown talks will go on as long as nothing disturbs talks: Iraq

The Iraqi government met again with the US government on Sunday on how to draw down American troops who have been deployed there for years combating the Islamic State. The two governments had held their first, long-awaited meeting January 27, but those meetings had been put on pause after Iran-backed militants struck a base in Jordan the very next day with a drone that killed three US service members. In the weeks since, the US has launched multiple retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria including a strike last week that killed a high-ranking commander of the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia who the US said is responsible for "directly planning and participating in attacks" on American troops in the region. Both Iraq and the US had agreed last August to enter into talks to transition US forces from their long-standing role in assisting Iraq in combating IS. There are approximately 2,500 troops in the country, and their departure will take into account the security situation on the .