Iraqi parliament decides to expel US troops

By Haydar Karaalp and Mehmet Nuri Ucar

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraqi parliament on Sunday decided to expel the U.S. troops from the country.

In an extraordinary session, the parliament unanimously decided to send the U.S. and foreign troops out of the country.

In a statement, the parliament said the implementation of the decision is within the government’s obligation.

The move came after Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds force, was killed in a U.S. drone airstrike in Iraq on Friday.

His death marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a 2015 nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who gave Soleimani the country's highest honor last year, vowed "severe retaliation" in response to his killing.

The Pentagon accused Soleimani of plotting the embassy attack and planning to carry out additional attacks on U.S. diplomats and service members in Iraq and the region.

* Writing by Sena Guler in Ankara.