Iraq and US reach final agreement on anti-ISIS coalition withdrawal, Zaidi says

Iraq and the United States have reached a final agreement on the withdrawal of the anti-ISIS coalition from Iraq, according to Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi. As of October 1, the country will be free from any foreign military presence, with all weapons under state control. During a recent meeting, Al Zaidi and US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper emphasized that the nations will now focus on collaboration in economic, developmental, and security domains.

The Operation Inherent Resolve mission, which aimed to defeat ISIS, was set to conclude by September 30. This date also marks Iraq's deadline for disarming militia groups operating within the country. While US troops withdrew from bases in most parts of Iraq last year, they maintained a presence in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Iraq's government recently stated that the US-led military coalition was preparing to withdraw its forces from the Kurdish region and transfer bases to Iraqi forces by the September 30 deadline.

Iraqi bases housing American forces have been targeted frequently in the ongoing Iran war. The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS was established in 2014, with the US initially deploying troops to counter the terrorist group's expansion. Troops commenced their withdrawal in 2018 following the defeat of ISIS in Iraq the previous year. In September 2024, Iraq and the US issued a joint statement outlining a timeline for the dissolution of the military mission.

This year, Iraq has been dealing with the challenge of processing thousands of ISIS prisoners released from detention centers and camps in Syria. The nation is working diligently to manage this arduous task while moving forward with the military withdrawal.