Iraq eyeing drawdown of US-led forces starting September, sources say

By Reuters 23 July 2024, 9:15 am

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File - US army soldiers, part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group, walk around at the K1 Air Base northwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq before a planned US pullout on March 29, 2020. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)

Iraq wants troops from a US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing in September and to formally end the coalition’s work by September 2025, four Iraqi sources say, with some US forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity.

The Iraqi position is being discussed with US officials in Washington this week at a security summit and there is no formal agreement on ending the coalition or any associated timetable yet, the Iraqi sources and US officials say.

US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller told a news briefing that both sides were meeting in Washington this week to determine how to transition the US-led coalition’s mission based on the threat posed by Islamic State, adding he had no further details.