Pentagon chief denies U.S. leaving Iraq; Tehran crowds mourn commander
2020-01-07 08:51:24 source：Reuters
January 6, 2020
BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has no plans to pull its troops out of Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Monday, following reports by Reuters and other media of an American military letter informing Iraq officials about the repositioning of troops in preparation to leave the country.
The developments came in the aftermath of Friday’s drone strike in Baghdad ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, widely seen as Iran’s second most powerful figure behind Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei, 80, wept in grief with hundreds of thousands of mourners thronging the streets of Tehran at Soleimani’s funeral on Monday.
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