Trump says troops won't leave Iraq until country pays base

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday his troops would not leave Iraq until Baghdad paid for the cost of the US-built military base. The statement came after the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution on the departure of US troops from the country. The friction between the two nations increased after Washington killed IranianAlso on Sunday, the US-led international coalition announced the suspension of Iraqi troop support and training activities to focus on protecting the bases where its forces are deployed in the Arab country. General Qasem Soleimani in a bombing in Baghdad that was not backed by the local government.

"We're not leaving until they pay us," Trump told reporters aboard the Presidential Air Force One plane, CNN reported. “We have an extraordinarily expensive base there. It cost us billions of dollars, well before my term. ”The US president still threatened Iraq with sanctions if the country expelled US soldiers.

In all, 5,200 US military personnel are in the country, where they were fighting the advance of the Islamic State group and training Iraqi security forces.

The resolution passed by Parliament also calls on the government to cancel the request for assistance from the international coalition to combat the terrorist group because it considers that military operations against extremists in the country have already ended.