WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said thousands of US troops in Iraq will “be getting out” and “we’ll be leaving shortly”.

He, however, did not mention a specific time frame.

Sitting alongside the new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in the Oval Office, US President Trump said, “At some point, we obviously will be gone. We’ve brought it down to a very, very low level.

“We look forward to the day when we don’t have to be there, and hopefully, Iraq can live their own lives and they can defend themselves, which they’ve been doing long before we got involved.

The US has about 5,000 troops in Iraq tasked with counterterrorism operations and training Iraqi security forces, VOA reported.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi told Trump he was “grateful for all the support the United States gave us during the war against ISIS. This support strengthens our partnership for the best interest for our nation.”

(With inputs from VOA)