Despite calls for withdrawal, the U.S. military resumed operations in Iraq

US officials said some of the operations were in cooperation with local forces, despite the Iraqi prime minister's demand for US troops spending after the Suleimani assassination. It is unclear whether the government in Baghdad is aware of this

Despite calls for withdrawal, the U.S. military resumed operations in Iraq

The US military continued its operations in Iraq against the Islamic State (ISIS), some in collaboration with local forces - US officials said Thursday. This is despite the Baghdad parliament's decision to ask the government to remove the US forces in the country, following the assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Kassem Suleimani and senior local militia on state soil.

One of the officials said that contacts to resume training for Iraqi forces are still ongoing, but that could happen quite quickly. One of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decisions had not yet been made publicly, said it was unclear who was involved on Iraq's behalf in talks with the US military or if the Iraqi government was supporting it. The resumption of operations was first published in the New York Times.

US troops at Ein al-Assad base after Iranian launches, second (Photo: AP)

US troops at US air base Ein al-Assad, Iraq a few days after being bombarded by Iranian rocket barrage January 13, 2020 (Photo: AP)

The United States is rejecting the request made by Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abd al-Mahdi to remove its 5,000-strong troops from the state. Washington officials, including President Donald Trump, see the US presence as essential for continuing the fight against ISIS and preventing Iran's increased influence on Baghdad.

Iraq's leadership has been furious with the US drone attack, which has killed Suleimani and Abu Mehdi al-Mohands, the deputy commander of Al-Hashad al-Sha'abi, the umbrella organization of Iranian-supported Shi'ite militias. She has also seen this as a grave breach of her sovereignty. With the Iranian missile attack, which responded to the assassination and hit the base of Ein al-Assad and another base, however, in light of the warnings received in advance, there were no dead or wounded.

After the latest escalation between Iran and the United States - which happened on Iraqi soil and began with the killing of a US rocket attack in late December and continued with US air strikes and storming the US embassy in Baghdad, the streets of government opponents protested against the United States and against Iran.

During Iran's missile attack: US troops hid in Saddam bunkers

Baghdad was furious at the liquidation. Suleimani funeral, this month (Photo: Reuters)

Tens of thousands in Quds Qassim Suleimani's Iraqi commander's funeral in Iraq January 4, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)