Foreign troop presence decreased by a quarter last year: Iraqi PMJanuary 19, 2019 - 11:14 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Foreign troop numbers in Iraq fell by a quarter during 2018, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has said, RT reports. “In January 2018 there had been almost 11,000 foreign fighters, about 70 percent of them are American, the others are from other countries,” according to Abdul Mahdi. “In December, the numbers have been reduced to almost 8,000, and the American troops are around 6,000… maybe I am wrong by some hundreds.” The PM said that more than 12 months after the government declared victory over Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in Iraq, the drawdown was accelerating, AFP reported on Wednesday. “In recent months, the decrease has sped up and in the last two months there was a drop of 1,000 forces,” he said. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |