BAGHDAD, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi parliament Thursday called on the government to set a timetable for the foreign forces to withdraw from Iraq after the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) group.
A statement by the parliament said that the lawmakers voted in favor of a decision that expresses "appreciation to all countries that stood with Iraq in its fighting against the terrorist Daesh (IS), and calls on the (Iraqi) government to set a timetable for the foreign troops' withdrawal after announcing the final victory over the terrorist groups."
Earlier, Hakim al-Zamili, head of the parliamentary security committee, said that there are some 8,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and called on the Iraqi government to rapidly end the presence of the foreign troops in the country.
During the battles against IS militants, the United States formed an international coalition of more than 60 countries and carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria to help defeat IS group.
On Feb. 6, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that an agreement has been signed with the United States to gradually reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.
"There is a plan agreed upon by the states of the international coalition to reduce their forces in Iraq gradually to avoid possible vacuum, especially with the threat of the IS in Syria, and the need to safeguard the borderline (with Syria)," Abadi said.
On Dec. 9, 2017, Abadi officially declared the full liberation of Iraq from IS militants after Iraqi forces recaptured all the areas once seized by the extremist group.
