The United States embassy in Baghdad is withdrawing some of its staff ahead of the first anniversary of the US killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in the Iraqi capital, according to media reports.
The drawdown will continue until after the anniversary of the killing of Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport in January this year, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
BACKGROUND: This report provides Department of Defense (DoD) contractor personnel numbers for 4th quarter Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) and current status of efforts underway to improve management of contractors accompanying United States (U.S.) Forces. It includes data on DoD contractor personnel deployed in Afghanistan, Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS); Iraq and Syria, Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR); and the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR).
KEY POINTS: During 4th quarter FY20, USCENTCOM reported approximately 43,809 contractor personnel supporting DoD in the USCENTCOM AOR, a decrease of approximately 5,128 from the previous quarter.
According to the Department of Defense (DoD), a company out of Colorado Springs, Colorado, had $116,821,426 to a previously awarded contract.
The contract will be for the continued support of critical operation, maintenance, and defense of Army communications, which supports the Army Operational Base Communications Information Systems and infrastructure in support of U.S. Central Command forces.
