US troops preparing for 'movement out of Iraq' after vote to expel American forces

The U.S. military has informed the Iraqi Joint Operations Command that it is "repositioning" troops for "movement out of Iraq." The move came a day after Iraq's parliament voted to expel American forces following the drone killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

"Sir, in due deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested by the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister, CJTF-OIR will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement," Brig. Gen. William Seely, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, stated in a letter Monday.

The authenticity of the letter, images of which were not signed by Seely, was confirmed to the Washington Post by a U.S. military source, and by Iraqi military sources to Reuters and Agence France-Press. Rick Dickson, an Army public affairs officer, said via Twitter: "This document is confirmed as official and accurate by Task Force Iraq Public Affairs. There are lots of people saying it is fake. It is not." Minutes later, the tweet was deleted.