Germany slashing troop numbers in Iraq

Germany says it is reducing its military presence in Iraq, in the latest fallout from the United States’ assassination of Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.

According to Press TV, the German government told parliament in a letter that about 30 soldiers stationed in Baghdad and Taji would be moved to Jordan and Kuwait.

Germany has about 415 soldiers in the US-led coalition purportedly fighting the Takfiri terrorist group of Daesh. About 120 of them are stationed in Iraq.

A German Defense Ministry spokesman said that the withdrawal would “begin shortly.”

The move comes after Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill demanding the withdrawal of all US-led foreign military forces following the US airstrike that martyred Lt. Gen. Soleimani, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), as well as eight other people.

SS