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No foreign troops in Iraq after 2011

US strikes deal with Iraq

AFP, Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday said Washington and Baghdad have agreed that there will be no foreign forces in the war-torn country after 2011. “There is an agreement between the two sides that there will be no foreign soldiqp iriiraq'^t£‘r Maliki said in a statement issued by his office.
Washington and Baghdad have for months been negotiating a controversial military security pact to decide the future of US-led foreign troops in Iraq once a UN mandate expires in December.
On Friday, the chief Iraqi negotiator Mohammed al-Haj Hammoud told AFP that the security pact had been finalised by both the sides and already approved by US President GeorgeW. Bush.
He said that under the 27-point deal all American combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraqi cities by next June ahead of a complete withdrawal by 2011.
Bush and Maliki had agreed last November to formalise such an agreement by July31.
The arrangement was delayed by strong opposition from Iraqi leaders over issues such as a timetable for withdrawal, how many bases Washington would retain and whether US troops would be
immune from Iraqi laws.
Hammoud said all issues had ±een addressedjn the deal.
there was a possibility US troops could leave before 2011 or remain beyond the target date.
"There is a provision that says the withdrawal could be done even before 2011 or extended beyond 2011 depending on the (security) situation,” he said.
Hammoud said that even if the withdrawal is completed by 2011, some US troops could remain to train Iraqi security forces.
He said the issue of how many bases Washington would retain in Iraq depended on the number of troops left behind for training purposes.
A number of committees would also look into offences committed by American troops in Iraq. The immunity offered to US soldiers currently in Iraq was one of the main sticking points in the negotiations, which began in February.
The deal has drawn sharp criticism from Iraq's political factions, especially from the anti-US group of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.