The U.S. military is on track to pull all of its forces out of Iraq by the end of September, marking the end of a presence that started with the 2003 invasion against Saddam Hussein.
Background
Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to wind down the much smaller U.S.-led operations against the Islamic State group. U.S. troops pulled out of bases in most areas of Iraq last year but maintained a presence in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met with Adm. Brad Cooper, who leads the U.S. Central Command, on Wednesday. Al-Zaidi said in a statement afterward that he had affirmed Sept. 30 as the “fixed and final date for ending the military mission of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq and completing the departure of its forces.”
Next Steps
A U.S. official confirmed that the U.S. expects to complete its pullout by Sept. 30, but declined to say how many troops remain in Iraq or where they would be redeployed. Two Iraqi Kurdish officials said a drawdown of U.S. troops and military equipment from Erbil began about three weeks ago.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
