US-led Coalition Combat Troops Have Left Iraq, Prime Minister Announces

All combat troops from the US and other countries making up the international coalition against the Islamic State have left Iraq, the Iraqi government announced on Wednesday, two days after the coalition made the same announcement. Coalition officials remaining in the country have now moved to a moved to a training and advisory role.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi tweeted: “The Coalition have fully completed their combat role after transfer of personnel and material outside Iraq. Going forward, their role will be to advise and assist our security forces per the outcome of the Strategic Dialogue.” The prime minister also tweeted that Iraqi security forces “stand ready to defend our people.”

The US and Iraq in July 2021 agreed to the combat troop withdrawal.

US troops first invaded Iraq in 2003 during the global War on Terror, and withdrew in 2007, only to return in 2014 to stop the rise of the Islamic State group. Very little will change with the official end of the combat mission; the troops reportedly have been operating in a mostly training and advisory role in recent years.