US Withdraws Troops From Iraq
2- 7.09.2024, 9:37
- 4,480
Timelines announced.
The United States and Iraq have reached an understanding on plans to withdraw US-led coalition forces from the country, which envisages the withdrawal of troops by September 2025, and the rest by the end of 2026, Reuters reports, citing sources.
“We have an agreement, it’s just a question of when to announce it,” a senior US official said.
The United States and Iraq are also seeking to establish a new consultative relationship that could include some US troops remaining in Iraq after the withdrawal.
A formal announcement was initially planned for several weeks, but was delayed due to regional escalation related to the war in Gaza, as well as to agree on some details.
Among the sources Reuters spoke to were five US officials, two officials from other coalition countries and three Iraqi officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity.
Several sources said the deal could be announced as early as this month.
Farhad Alaaldin, an adviser to the Iraqi prime minister on foreign affairs, said technical talks with Washington on reducing the coalition had concluded.
“We are now on the cusp of moving the relationship between Iraq and the members of the international coalition to a new level, focusing on bilateral military, security, economic and cultural relations,” he said.
A U.S. State Department official and a defense department official said U.S. President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani reaffirmed in a joint statement in April that they would review factors to determine when and how the global coalition’s mission in Iraq would end and move toward a strong bilateral security partnership.
The agreement is the result of more than six months of negotiations between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Prime Minister al-Sudani in January amid attacks by Iranian-backed Iraqi militias on American troops stationed at Iraqi bases.
The plan calls for all coalition forces to leave the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025.
However, American and other coalition troops are expected to remain in Erbil, the semi-autonomous northern region of Kurdistan, until around the end of 2026 to support ongoing operations against the Islamic State in Syria.
The exact details of the troop movements are being kept secret.
The troop reduction would mark a significant shift in Washington’s military posture in the region.
The agreement, when announced, would likely be a political victory for Sudan, as it would balance Iraq’s position as an ally of both Washington and Tehran. The first phase of the troop withdrawal will be completed a month before Iraq's parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2025.
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