Jul 11, 2017

The United States and several coalition countries want to maintain a military footprint in Iraq after the eventual defeat of the Islamic State group, a top US general said Tuesday.

Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend said the Iraqi government had expressed an interest in having US and coalition stay in the country.

"Our government is equally interested in that, as are several coalition governments have expressed an interest in joining in that effort," Townsend said in a video call from Baghdad.

Townsend added that discussions were in the final decision-making stages.

"I would anticipate that there will be a coalition presence here after the defeat of ISIS," he said.