Shia militia leaders have vowed to target and kill Iraqi citizens who have cooperated with foreign forces, describing them as enemies who will be “eliminated”. More than 70 Iraqi interpreters who have been serving alongside Australian troops stationed in Baghdad have pleaded with the Australian government to be allowed to apply for visas for them and their families to escape the country. Interpreters have asked Australian military officers in Baghdad for help, but have been told they cannot assist them. On Sunday, Iraq’s parliament passed a resolution to expel all foreign forces following the assassination in a US airstrike of the Iranian military commander Qassem Suleimani near Baghdad airport. Within Okra, Task Group Taji was established in 2015 to train Iraqi forces, originally for two years, but the mission has been consistently extended.

Source: The Guardian January 07, 2020 03:22 UTC