U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, making an unannounced trip to Iraq on Tuesday nearly 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, said Washington was committed to keeping its military presence in the country
The United States currently has 2,500 troops in Iraq - and an additional 900 in Syria - to help advise and assist local troops in combating Islamic State, who in 2014 seized swathes of territory in 2014 in both countries.
The trip is also about supporting Sudani's push back against Iranian influence in the country, former officials and experts said. "I think that Iraqi leaders share our interest in Iraq not becoming a playground for conflict between the United States and Iran," a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.
Between 185,000 and 208,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in the war, according to the Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.
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