Both countries agreed to establish the U.S.-Iraq Higher Military Commission (HMC) in August and the Pentagon says the talks are not connected to recent tensions in the region.
But Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has repeatedly condemned U.S. strikes in his country, including one this week striking three sites used by Iranian-backed militia groups.
Al-Sudani said this week there was a “need to take all necessary political, diplomatic and security measures to protect Iraq’s sovereignty and maintain its security.”
The coming talks will focus on the transition to a new phase in the war against extremist Islamist group ISIS, weighing several factors, including existing threats and Iraqi security force capabilities.
“We’re going to continue this strong security partnership to advance our shared objectives and interests,” a senior U.S. military official said. “HMC will help us determine what form that partnership will take.”
The U.S. has roughly 2,500 troops in Iraq to train and assist allied fighters in the war against ISIS.
Baghdad invited the American troops to Iraq after ISIS rose to power in 2014. If it chose to ask the U.S. to leave, Washington would have no other options without risking the relationship.
The U.S. has battled Iranian-backed militants since the October breakout of the Israel-Hamas war in a conflict that shows no signs of stopping. Iraq, meanwhile, has raised concerns about fighting in its sovereign territory.
ISIS has largely been defeated but maintains sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria, which continues to pose a problem.
“Forces are constantly working with their intelligence platforms to detect and track these small ISIS cells,” a senior U.S. official said.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
