BAGHDAD, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iraq and the United States resumed talks on ending the presence of U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq on Thursday, the Iraqi military said.
The two sides formed a joint Higher Military Commission (HMC) in January to work out a plan to withdraw the foreign troops who have been in Iraq since 2014 to help fight the Islamic State (IS) militants.
The HMC held several meetings in Baghdad on Thursday through three subcommittees that discussed the security situation, the threat of terrorism, and the options to boost the Iraqi forces' capabilities, military spokesman Yahya Rasoul said in a statement.
The subcommittees reported their findings to the HMC, which will continue its work to finalize the plan to end the coalition's mission against IS, he said.
He added that the subcommittees will meet periodically to prepare for Iraq's transition to bilateral relations with the coalition countries in various fields.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said last month that Iraq and the United States agreed to form the HMC to end the coalition's mission in Iraq and move to a new phase of cooperation. ■
