The United States will formally end its combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year. US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi agreed on the timetable on Monday, during a meeting at the White House. The meeting was part of a strategic dialogue between the United States and Iraq that included a bilateral meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hussein, as well as senior-level meetings at the Pentagon with senior Iraqi commanders, joined by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
US forces will continue to operate in Iraq as advisors. “Our role in Iraq will be … to be available, to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS as it arises, but we’re not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” Biden told reporters on Monday.
There are some 2,500 US troops in Iraq, working to put down the remnants of the Islamic State in the country,
Legislative elections are scheduled to be held in Iraq in October. The agreement to withdraw US troops could help boost Kadhimi.