US forces preparing to withdraw from base west of Baghdad

U.S. Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, load onto a CH-47 Chinook helicopter as they leave Al Qaim Base, Iraq, March 9, 2020. Coalition forces repositioned due to successful Iraqi Security Forces operations against ISIS, and will continue the anti-ISIS partnership from other Iraqi bases. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Andrew Garcia)

The US forces coalition purportedly fighting the Daesh terror group in Iraq is reportedly preparing to evacuate troops from a military base in the city of Abu Gharib, west of the capital Baghdad.

Iraqi media outlets reported on Tuesday that the US forces coalition had decided to hand over the base in Abu Gharib to the Iraqi forces in the coming hours.

According to the reports, Abu Gharib base would be the sixth base to have returned to the Iraqi army in the recent weeks.

The Iraqis believe the recent withdrawal of US forces from a number of military bases is “a military tactic,” amid reports that Washington is drawing up plans to target commanders of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), better known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi.

In late March, the PMU blew the lid off a plot by the US military to carry out massive aerial operations — backed by ground troops – against bases of the elite anti-terror force, which is currently busy helping the government in the fight against a new coronavirus pandemic.

Days later, US media also reported that the Pentagon has ordered military commanders to plan for an escalation of American operations in Iraq.

Iraq’s anti-terror resistance groups say they stand fully ready to counter any possible attack by US occupation forces, saying that they are also on high alert for any false-flag US operation.