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1 1 (August 6, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveqge0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Iraq: Attacks and U.S. Strikes Reopen Discussion of U.S. Military Presence Updated August 6, 2024 After a months-long pause (Figure 1), the recurrence of attacks on facilities in Iraq hosting U.S. personnel and U.S. defensive measures 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. Attacks recurred in April, July, and August 2024, including an attack that wounded U.S. personnel on August 5. A U.S. defensive strike on July 30 marked the first such U.S. strike since February 2024. 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. Press reports indicated the July 30 U.S. 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. Following the August 5 attack that wounded U.S. personnel, an Iraqi official said Iraq was pursuing the perpetrators and said Iraq rejects all reckless actions and practices targeting Iraqi bases, diplomatic missions, and the whereabouts of the international coalition's advisers, and everything that would raise tension in the region. 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. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12309 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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