Iraq PM Trump meeting, Pro-Iran Groups Escalate Violence as Iraq PM

Iraq PM Trump meeting, Pro-Iran Groups Escalate Violence as Iraq PM.

As Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi prepares for his first meeting with US President Donald Trump this week, attacks on American targets by pro-Iranian fighters have been on the rise.

With Tehran and Washington competing for influence in Iraq, the gulf between pro-Iranian factions and Baghdad’s US-friendly premier is growing.

When Kadhemi meets Trump on Thursday for the first time, the top agenda for the Iraqi leader is the presence of 5,000 US troops deployed in his country.

Kadhemi, who took office in May, faces challenges from factions of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a coalition of Iraqi Shiite paramilitary groups with close ties to Iran.

The Hashed al-Shaabi is integrated into the Iraqi state, and its political representatives have called for the expulsion of US troops.

Pro-Iranian factions were hit hard by Washington’s assassination in January of one of their top chiefs, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a strike that also killed top Iranian commander General Qasem Soleimani.

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