US trucks loaded with military equipment moved from Iran toward Iraq to establish a US base, without revealing the reason behind the move, an informed source in Anbar revealed on Wednesday.
An estimated 40 percent of desert areas in Anbar province are still unsafe and contain ISIS elements, although a year has passed since the province was declared liberated from ISIS, a source said earlier.
The top Pentagon official, who visited the country secretly on Tuesday, assured Iraqi leaders that the US will stick to its limited military role in Iraq, a message aimed at recent talks by some Iraqi politicians of forcing a US troop withdrawal.
Pat Shanahan, the acting secretary of defense, said that in talks with Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi, he stressed US respect for Iraqi sovereignty, an issue that has become a hot-button topic among Iraqis since President Donald Trump suggested using Iraq as a base for monitoring neighboring Iran and for potential attacks against remaining elements of ISIS in Syria.