US formally concludes mission in Iraq
After more than a decade, the US-led coalition said it was ending its operation to fight the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
On Wednesday, the United States officially ended its military mission against ISIS in Iraq, marking the conclusion of a decade-long operation. According to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, this decision aligns with a September 2024 US-Iraq joint statement and US national interests. The Islamic State group, which had seized significant territories in both Iraq and Syria and committed numerous atrocities, was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019.
However, coalition forces continued to remain in Iraq to combat the remnants of the group. Today, the US and its coalition partners have formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, the spokesman confirmed. The orderly withdrawal of coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base in the Kurdistan region signifies the successful completion of the military mission that led to the defeat of ISIS in Iraq, Parnell added.
In 2024, Baghdad and Washington agreed to wind down the coalition's mission, leading to a gradual withdrawal of troops from bases across the country, with their presence now restricted to the autonomous northern Kurdistan region. The Iraqi government views the coalition's withdrawal as removing the pretext that powerful Iran-backed militant factions have used to retain their weapons.
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