BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Foreign combat forces will leave Iraq within 15 days, the Iraqi military said on Wednesday, and Anadolu News Agency reports.
Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, told the state news agency that the departure of the foreign forces was underway as scheduled.
He, however, said that a limited foreign presence will remain at the Ain al-Assad military base.
“Most of the combat forces left Iraq, and only advisers and those working in the field of intelligence, reconnaissance and training remained,” al-Khafaji added.
The Iraqi spokesman said there is “a schedule for handing over weapons and equipment to the combat forces.”
On Friday, the Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee raised concerns that there was no sign of U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq.
In July, Iraq and the U.S. agreed to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of this year.
Back then, U.S. President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi declared that the U.S. mission in Iraq will transition from combat to “advisory” role.
“The delegations decided, following recent technical talks, that the security relationship will fully transition to a training, advising, assisting, and intelligence-sharing role, and that there will be no U.S. forces with a combat role in Iraq by December 31, 2021,” Baghdad and Washington said in a joint statement on July 26.
The agreement, which has effectively given a mere new name to the U.S. military presence in Iraq, has enraged Iraqi resistance groups, which have played a significant role in defeating the Daesh terrorist group in Iraq in 2017.
Daesh began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks.
Iraq declared victory over Daesh in December 2017 after a three-year counter-terrorism military campaign, which also had the support of neighboring Iran.
The terror outfit’s remnants, though, keep staging sporadic attacks across Iraq, attempting to regroup and unleash fresh violence.