Iraq PM challenges Tillerson on Iran remarks

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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met top US diplomat Rex Tillerson in Baghdad, challenging the secretary of state over his comments on Iranian militias in Iraq.

Tillerson, in Riyadh on Sunday, had called on Iranian militias in Iraq to "go home" as the fight against the Islamic State group was ending. His comments prompted a sharp response from Baghdad. "The fighters of the Hashed al-Shaabi are Iraqis who have fought terrorism, defended their country and made sacrifices to defeat (IS)," Abadi said yesterday, according to a statement from his office.