Talks to end US-led coalition in Iraq may take till after US elections

Talks between the United States and Iraq on ending the U.S.-led military coalition in the country may not be concluded until after U.S. presidential elections in November, a senior Iraqi government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Washington and Baghdad in January initiated talks to reassess the U.S-led coalition in Iraq, formed in 2014 to help fight Islamic State after the extremist Sunni Muslim militant group overran large parts of the country.
The decision came after U.S forces and Shi’ite armed groups had engaged in tit-for-tat attacks amid regional conflict linked to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Those attacks have now ceased for over a month to allow breathing space for the negotiations.
Backed by Shi’ite Muslim parties and armed groups, the government in Baghdad, a rare ally of both Tehran and Washington, is trying to prevent the country again becoming a battlefield for foreign powers.