BAGHDAD — A group of Shiite military factions are working through their parliamentary blocs under the Fatah Alliance — which consists of leaders of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) — Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition and Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon Alliance to enact a law to drive US troops out of the country. They claim there is no need for the troops to stay since they defeated the Islamic State (IS) and brought security in the western, Sunni regions of Iraq.

Informed sources close to the Popular Mobilization Units’ leadership told Al-Monitor that the draft law on the table in Iraq's parliament demands all foreign troops pull out of Iraq within a time limit ranging between six and 12 months. This is in addition to abolishing the US-Iraq security deal in terms of US security firms, particularly those tasked with securing the Iraq-Jordan international highway.

The two alliances are basing their argument on the 2008 security agreement that stipulates the withdrawal of US troops by the end of 2011, adding that the return of some troops as part of the US-led coalition against IS came at the Iraqi government’s request after the fall of Mosul to IS in 2014.

During a visit to US troops on Dec. 26, 2018, at Ain al-Asad military base in Anbar, US President Donald Trump said US troops “will not pull out from Iraq” and will beat the enemies from there. Following this statement, the alliances — which are hostile to the United States — are seemingly determined more than ever to oblige the Iraqi government to drive US forces out and have threatened to use force if the legal path does not achieve their desired results.