US-led coalition withdraws from Iraqi K1 base where US contractor was killed

US-led coalition withdraws from Iraqi K1 base where US contractor was killed
March 29, 2020, 3:21 pm

US soldiers are pictured at the Qayyarah air base, Iraq. (AFP)

The US-led coalition withdrew on Sunday from a military base in northern Iraq that nearly launched Washington into an open war with neighboring Iran.

The K1 Air Base is the third site coalition forces that have left this month in line with US plans to consolidate its troops in two locations in Iraq.

A rocket attack on the base in late December killed one American contractor and lead to a series of tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups. The attacks culminated in the US-directed killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes.

Coalition forces handed over the K1 airbase in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk to Iraq’s military, according to a coalition statement. At least $1.1 million of equipment was transferred to the Iraqis as 300 coalition personnel departed. where US contractor was

K1 has hosted coalition forces since 2017 to launch operations against ISIS in the nearby mountainous areas. Areas south of Kirkuk, and north of neighboring provinces of Diyala, Salahaddin, and Nineveh remain hotbeds of ISIS activity.

The stretch of territory is also disputed between the federal Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdish region, which has created security gaps benefiting ISIS militants. The coalition’s presence had at times been a mediating presence between the two competing authorities.

A senior coalition official earlier this month claimed ISIS forces weren’t as able to exploit the “security gap” between Iraqi and Kurdish forces as the militants did in the past.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that is free to operate in the way that they wish,” said the official. “They’re still pretty constrained.” where US contractor was

The coalition official was speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. levant

source: The Associated Press levant

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