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Abadi: We did not request the deployment of foreign forces and we consider it a ‘hostile act’

December 4, 2015 at 2:29 pm

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi denied reports that the Iraqi government requested any country send ground combat forces to the country in the context of the war on Daesh, considering the deployment of such forces as “a hostile act”.

Earlier this week, the US announced that it will deploy a unit of about 100 Special Forces soldiers to fight Daesh in Iraq in Syria, while two American senators proposed deploying 100,000 American soldiers.

The statement, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, also said that “the Iraqi government completely rejects such action and would deal with the presence of foreign ground troops to Iraq as though their presence were a hostile act and a violation of Iraq’s national sovereignty.”

Al-Abadi also said: “The Iraqi government is committed to not allowing ground troops on Iraqi land, and it did not ask any party, neither regional or from the coalition forces, to deploy ground forces in Iraq.”

He affirmed that the Iraqi government’s position is firm on its “demand that the international coalition provide air support, weapons, ammunition and training in the battle against Daesh.”

On Tuesday, US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter said: “In full coordination with the government of Iraq, we’re deploying a specialized expeditionary targeting force to assist Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces and to put even more pressure on Daesh. These special operators will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture Daesh leaders,” using another acronym for Daesh.