Iraqi Armed Group Links Weapons Control to U.S. Troop Withdrawal

According to Jin10, the Iraqi armed group Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada said it would cooperate with domestic weapons control only if 10 conditions are met, the most important being the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The group said in a statement that U.S. military presence in Iraq should end under any name, that Iraqi airspace should not be used to launch attacks on neighboring countries, and that all weapons can be brought under state authority only if measures are also taken to strengthen Iraq's armed forces and air defense capabilities. Other conditions include the withdrawal of PKK fighters from Iraqi territory, federal government control of the Kurdistan region's borders, and the removal of Iranian opposition groups stationed in northern Iraq.