This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/7731971.stm
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Iraq cabinet backs US troops deal | Iraq cabinet backs US troops deal |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The Iraqi cabinet has approved a security pact with the US, a government minister and other officials have said. | The Iraqi cabinet has approved a security pact with the US, a government minister and other officials have said. |
| The deal allows US troops to remain in the country for three more years, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters news agency. | The deal allows US troops to remain in the country for three more years, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters news agency. |
| The decision will need to go before Iraq's parliament for a final vote. | |
| The two countries have been negotiating a bilateral deal over the future of US military forces in Iraq after their UN mandate expires on 31 December 2008. | |
| In October, Iraq sent a new round of suggested changes to the draft Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), to which the US responded. | |
| Washington had previously said the pact was "final" and could not be amended. | |
| There are currently about 150,000 US troops deployed in Iraq. | |
| The Iraqi cabinet approved the pact after a two-and-a-half hour meeting, a government official said. | |
| Government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said all but one of the 28 ministers present had voted in favour of the pact, according to the Associated Press news agency. | |
| He said he expected the agreement to be submitted to Iraq's parliament later on Sunday, but did not say when the body would vote on it. | |
| Speaking before Sunday's meeting, Iraq's lead negotiator, Muwafaq al-Rubaie, said he believed the draft agreement was a "very good text" and he expected it to be approved by parliament as well. | |
| The draft agreement calls for US troops to pull out of Iraqi cities by June 2009 and from the entire country by the end of 2011. | |
| But the pact has drawn fire from hardline nationalists, especially Iraq's influential Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, whose supporters have called for mass demonstrations to oppose any agreement with the US "occupier". |