Iraq and US begin formal talks to end coalition mission formed to fight the Islamic State group

By ABBY SEWELL
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister says his government and the United States have held a first session of formal talks in Baghdad aimed at winding down the mission of a U.S.-led military coalition formed to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq. The beginning of talks on Saturday comes as U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been regularly targeted by drone attacks launched by Iran-backed militias against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The U.S. says plans to set up a committee to negotiate the terms of the mission’s end were first discussed last year and that the timing isn’t related to the attacks.