Informed\nmilitary sources tell Press TV that the United States has started pulling its\ntroops out of the region since Saturday, despite claims to the contrary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nsources said Sunday the US has withdrawn its combat troops from Kuwait while\nC-5 and C-17 military transport aircraft have flown about 700 guards into the\nregion to reinforce protection of American diplomatic missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nnew revelation came despite prior announcements by American authorities that\nthe US President Donald Trump’s administration has decided to shore up the\ncountry\u2019s military presence in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\nalso followed recent assassination of Iran’s Quds Force commander Lieutenant Qassem\nSoleimani and his companions, including deputy commander of Iraq\u2019s Popular\nMobilization Units Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nall, 10 people — five Iraqis and five Iranians — were assassinated in the US\nstrike on their motorcade just outside Baghdad airport as Gen. Soleimani\u2019s\nflight arrived from Syria, leading to speculations that the Israeli\nintelligence might have played a role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nassassination prompted calls for revenge from various resistance groups across\nthe region with Iranian officials also vowing crushing response to the US act\nof terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nassassination also triggered a wave of outrage among Iranians and Iraqis, and\nfurther aligned the two neighbours with vociferous calls for revenge for what\nthey view as “state terrorism.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hundreds\nof thousands of people, chanting “Death to America and “Death to\nIsrael,” held funeral processions for the two commanders and their\ncompanions in Baghdad and the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prime\nMinister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and Iraqi commander Hadi al-Amiri, the top candidate\nto succeed Muhandis, senior cleric Ammar al-Hakim and other important figures\naccompanied the large crowd of mourners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ameri\nand many other Iraqi leaders have called on all factions in Iraq to unite and\nexpel foreign troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many\nIraqis condemned the US assassination, praising General Soleimani for his role\nin defeating Daesh terrorists who seized large swathes of north and central\nIraq in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It\nis necessary to take revenge on the murderers. The martyrs got the prize they\nwanted – the prize of martyrdom,\u201d said one of the Iraqi marchers, Ali\nal-Khatib.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Press\nTV<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Informed military sources tell Press TV that the United States has started pulling its troops out of the region since Saturday, despite claims to the contrary. The sources said Sunday the US has withdrawn its combat troops from Kuwait while C-5 and C-17 military transport aircraft have flown about 700 guards into the region to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27983,"featured_media":13032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n