US sets up two military bases in Iraq’s Anbar: Official

By Suleiman al-Qubaisi</p> <p><br></p> <p>ANBAR, Iraq (AA) – The U.S. has established two new military bases in Iraq’s western Anbar province near the Syrian border, an Iraqi official revealed Tuesday.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The move comes less than one week after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria.</p> <p><br></p> <p>“The U.S. army has established two new military facilities in uninhabited parts of the province,” Farhan al-Duleimi, a member of Anbar’s provisional council, told Anadolu Agency.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The first base, he said, had been set up in the northern Rumana subdistrict (in Anbar’s Al-Qaim district) near the Syrian border, roughly 360 kilometers west of provincial capital Ramadi.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The second base, he added, had been set up east of the city of Al-Rutbah, roughly 310 kilometers west of Ramadi and less than 100 kilometers from the Syrian border.</p> <p><br></p> <p>According to al-Duleimi, the twin bases are intended to help Iraqi forces “secure the country's borders and prevent infiltrations by the Daesh terrorist group”.</p> <p><br></p> <p>&quot;Scores of U.S. soldiers are currently stationed at the two bases, along with drones and other equipment,&quot; al-Duleimi said without elaborating.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The Iraqi government and the U.S. military have yet to comment on al-Duleimi’s assertions.</p> <p><br></p> <p>But if confirmed, the construction of the two new bases will bring the total number of U.S. military bases in Anbar to four.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Roughly 5,000 U.S. troops have remained deployed in Iraq since the U.S. cobbled a coalition together in 2014 with the stated aim of fighting Daesh. </p> <p><br></p> <p>After its sudden emergence in mid-2014, the terrorist group managed to overrun roughly two thirds of Iraq, mainly in the country’s north and west.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Along with training Iraqi forces, the U.S.-led coalition continues to provide the Iraqi army with air support as it hunts down and destroys the terrorist group’s lingering presence.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Last December, Baghdad declared that Daesh's military presence in Iraq had been all but destroyed following a three-year conflict that ended with the fall of Daesh-held Mosul.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Iraqi officials, however, continue to wage frequent operations against Daesh &quot;sleeper cells&quot;, which allegedly remain active in certain parts of the country.