Read in
Despite Washington’s announcement that US troops withdrawing from Syria would help protect the Iraqi border from Islamic State infiltration, the Iraqi army said in an Oct. 23 statement that the presence of these forces is temporary and that they must leave the country soon.
Iraq's statement reflects the confusion caused by the military operation Turkey launched Oct. 9 in areas of eastern Syria controlled by Kurdish forces. Based on contradictory social media posts, it appears Baghdad and Washington did not coordinate in advance about the future of the withdrawing troops, or the fate of thousands of IS detainees held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
