US defense secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that the United States does not intend to seize Iraqi oil, shifting away from an idea proposed by President Donald Trump that has rattled Iraq’s leaders. “We’re not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil.”Read moreHis comments may provide some reassurance to the Iraqis. Under the president’s deadline, Mattis has just a week to send Trump a strategy to accelerate the fight and defeat the Islamic State group. Read moreAsked about the tensions, Mattis said he has been assured that the travel ban it has been stalled by a legal challenge would not affect Iraqis who have fought alongside US forces. “To the victor belong the spoils,” Trump told members of the intelligence community.

Source: Hindustan Times February 20, 2017 09:56 UTC