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1 1 (July 31, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveqfh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Iraq: Attacks and U.S. Strikes Reopen Discussion of U.S. Military Presence Updated July 31, 2024 After a months-long pause (Figure 1), the recurrence of attacks on facilities in Iraq hosting U.S. personnel in April and July 2024 and a U.S. defensive strike in Iraq on July 30, 2024, could affect U.S.- Iraqi talks on the future of U.S. forces in Iraq. Iran-backed armed groups attacked U.S. personnel in Iraq more than 60 times between the October 2023 onset of the Israel-Hamas war and February 4, 2024, and, in response, President Joe Biden ordered U.S. air strikes in Iraq and in neighboring Syria. Iraqi security officials visited Washington, DC, in July 2024 for Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue talks, and the two sides decided to begin work on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide an enhanced framework for their bilateral security relationship. After attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria during and following the July talks, U.S. forces reportedly conducted a defensive strike in Iraq on July 30. Press reports indicated the strike killed members of the state-affiliated 47th Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) brigade, which reportedly consists of members of the Iran-backed, U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH). An Iraqi official called the U.S. strike a heinous crime and said it could significantly undermine joint diplomatic and military efforts and could embroil Iraq in regional conflict. The attacks and U.S. strike may affect talks that began in January on the evolution of the coalition mission to enable the transition to an enduring bilateral security partnership. That month, Iraq's government, citing risks to Iraq's security from the attacks and U.S. counter-strikes, announced it seeks to end the presence in Iraq of the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS/ISIL) and to engage in bilateral discussions about the future of the U.S. military presence. In June 2024, President Biden cited the Iraqi government's invitation for U.S. forces and the coalition to remain in Iraq in his semiannual comprehensive war powers report to Congress. As of December 2023, U.S. Central Command reported that approximately 2,400 U.S. military personnel were deployed in Iraq and 800 in Syria. The U.S. military presence in Iraq and U.S. military access to Iraq's airspace and land border with Syria facilitate U.S. military operations in Syria, where IS insurgents have been more active. U.S. forces report that attacks since October 2023 have required resource reallocation and greater force protection. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12309 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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