The top American military commander in the Middle East said that US troop levels in Iraq and Syria would most likely shrink in the coming months.

Iran PressAmerica: The top American military commander in the Middle East Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., said that US troop levels in Iraq and Syria would most likely shrink in the coming months because local forces are increasingly able to counter ISIS on their own.

Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the head of the Pentagon’s Central Command, said the 5,200 troops in Iraq to help fight remnants of the ISIS and train Iraqi forces “will be adjusted” after consultations with the government in Baghdad.

He added that he had not yet received orders to begin withdrawing forces.

General McKenzie said he expected American and other NATO forces to maintain “a long-term presence” in Iraq to work very hard to finish off ISIS but declined to say how large that presence might be, but other American officials said discussions with Iraqi officials that resume this month could result in a reduction to around 3,500 U.S. troops.

Iraq’s parliament passed a resolution calling on the government to end all foreign troop presence in Iraq

The resolution’s main aim is to get the United States to withdraw some of its approximately 5,000 troops present in different parts of Iraq.

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