Spain FM Says Attacks On Foreign Troops In Iraq 'need To Stop'

Baghdad, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jan, 2024) Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Thursday that a spate of attacks targeting US-led troops in Iraq assisting the campaign against militants "need to stop".

"We are extremely worried by the constant attacks against international military bases," Albares said on a visit to Iraq, where his government has troops deployed. "Attacks against foreign troops need to stop."

US-led coalition forces in Iraq and Syria have been targeted in more than 150 attacks since mid-October, many of them claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of groups that oppose US support for Israel in the Gaza conflict.

Washington has responded with air strikes targeting the groups it holds mainly responsible but the cycle of violence has prompted Baghdad to call for talks on a timetable for the withdrawal of coalition troops.

"We are here at the request of the government of Iraq and we will leave when the government of Iraq considers," Albares said.