U.S. and Iraq resume joint military ops after Soleimani killiing

WASHINGTON – The United States on Wednesday resumed joint military operations with Iraq that had been put on pause after the U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, The New York Times reported. Two U.S. military officials quoted by the paper said the Pentagon wanted to resume these operations in order to pick up the fight against the Islamic State group. Washington began the pause on January 5 two days after the strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad airport. The same day of the suspension furious Iraqi lawmakers voted to expel the more than 5,000 U.S. troops that are in Iraq. It was not immediately clear if anyone in the Iraqi government had approved the resumption of the joint military operations, the Times reported. The Pentagon said it had no information to provide concerning a resumption when contacted by AFP.