Thu 09 December 2021:
According to Iraq’s national security adviser, the US-led coalition’s combat campaign against ISIL (ISIS) in Iraq has officially ended.
Qassim al-Araji made the declaration on Thursday after the final round of technical talks in Baghdad to formally transfer the combat mission to an advisory mission assisting Iraqi forces.
“We are officially announcing the end of the coalition forces’ combat mission,” al-Araji wrote on Twitter.
“The relationship with the international coalition continues in the areas of training, advising and capacity building” of Iraqi forces, he added.
Although Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday that Washington would “uphold our commitments, including that there would be no US forces with a combat role by the end of the year,” the US did not immediately confirm the end of the combat mission.
Approximately 2,500 US troops and 1,000 coalition troops are now stationed in Iraq. The US invaded the country in 2003 as part of its global “war on terror,” amassing a force of some 170,000 soldiers in 2007 before pulling out in 2011.
In reaction to the development of ISIL, which overran a significant swath of land throughout Iraq and Syria, US forces were redeployed to Iraq in 2014.
According to both Iraqi and Kurdish security sources, Iraqi security forces still require coalition air support for anti-ISIL operations and intelligence gathering. They also require aid in maintaining armaments and equipment provided by the United States.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
_____________________________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
