The international anti-ISIS coalition led by the United States announced on Sunday suspending the training of Iraqi forces and the fight against the Islamic State group (ISIS), because it is "now fully dedicated to protecting the Iraqi bases which host its troops”.

The decision came after after the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani of the Quds Force and Hash al-Shaabi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a US raid in Baghdad two days ago.

A statement by CJTF-OIR (Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve) on the ongoing Defeat Daesh Mission, published today, said the following:

“Our first priority is protecting all Coalition personnel committed to the defeat of Daesh. Repeated rocket attacks over the last two months by elements of Kata'ib Hezbollah have caused the death of Iraqi Security Forces personnel and a U.S. civilian. As a result we are now fully committed to protecting the Iraqi bases that host Coalition troops. This has limited our capacity to conduct training with partners and to support their operations against Daesh and we have therefore paused these activities, subject to continuous review.

We remain resolute as partners of the Government of Iraq and the Iraqi people that have welcomed us into their country to help defeat ISIS. We remain ready to return our full attention and efforts back to our shared goal of ensuring the lasting defeat of Daesh.”

The announcement coincided with the Iraqi Parliament vote to end the presence of foreign troops in the country.