Iraqi PM says IS no longer threat to Iraq

BAGHDAD, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) militant group no longer poses a threat to Iraq and dialogue to end the U.S.-led international coalition to fight the IS group continues, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani said Sunday.

Al-Sudani made the remarks during talks with Major General Kevin C. Leahy, commander of the U.S.-led coalition against IS in Iraq, in the presence of U.S. ambassador to Iraq Alina L. Romanowski, said al-Sudani's media office in a statement.

The remnants of IS militants have turned into gangs that are being hunted by Iraqi forces in remote areas of the country, the statement said.

The meeting focused on "the progress of the technical dialogue between Iraq and the U.S.-led international coalition about ending the coalition's mission in the country and transferring the mission to bilateral relations between Iraq and the coalition member states," it said.

The discussions also covered ongoing cooperation in training, sharing expertise, and intelligence collaboration with Iraqi security forces, it added.

On Jan. 25, the Iraqi foreign ministry announced that Iraq and the United States had agreed to establish the High-Level Military Committee to oversee the end of the international coalition mission in Iraq, and that the focus would shift to developing comprehensive bilateral relations with coalition countries across political, economic, cultural, security, and military dimensions.