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Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani chairs a meeting with top-ranking officials of the Iraqi armed forces and of the US-led coalition during the first round of talks on the future of American and other foreign troops in the country, in Baghdad on January 27, 2024. Baghdad expects discussions to lead to a timeline for reducing their presence. Roughly 2,500 US troops are still deployed in Iraq as part of the anti-Islamic State group coalition formed in 2014 -- the year the jihadist group overran swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria. (Photo by Hadi Mizban / POOL / AFP) (KEYSTONE/POOL/HADI MIZBAN)