Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has said that the September 30 deadline for ending the U.S.-led international coalition’s military mission in Iraq and completing the withdrawal of its forces is “fixed and final”.
The remarks came after al-Zaidi’s meeting with U.S. Central Command Commander General Brad Cooper, The Associated Press reported.
The withdrawal would mark the end of a presence. In 2024, Washington and Baghdad agreed to wind down the much smaller U.S.-led operations against the ISIS terrorist armed group (banned in Russia).
A US official told The Associated Press news agency that the U.S. expects to complete its pullout by September 30, but declined to say how many troops remain in Iraq or where they would be redeployed.
“The United States, Iraq and coalition partners have achieved tremendous success in defeating ISIS and now the Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, will lead the fight against terrorists in Iraq,” the official said.
