US, Iraq agree to end 'alliance' in September 2025

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[size=52]US, Iraq agree to end 'alliance' in September 2025[/size]

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A US administration official revealed that the United States and Iraq have reached a two-stage transitional plan to end the mission of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]The official added in an unscripted briefing that the international coalition's military mission in Iraq will end in the first phase, which extends from this year until September 2025.[/size]
[size=45]He added that the second phase will continue until September 2026, and will focus on continuing work to ensure that the threat from ISIS does not return from northeastern Syria.[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that Washington and Baghdad have reached an understanding that allows the coalition to continue supporting anti-ISIS operations in Syria until at least September 2026, subject to conditions on the ground and political consultations between the two countries.[/size]
[size=45]The official stressed that the United States will not withdraw from Iraq under this agreement, which represents a development in the military mission in Iraq, and paves the way for a long-term security relationship similar to Washington's security relations with its various partners around the world.[/size]
[size=45]A Pentagon official, in the same briefing, declined to give any details about the future of the US military presence in Iraq during the transitional period, stressing that there will undoubtedly be a change in the number of US forces and their positioning, but these details have not yet been decided, are still under review and will be the focus of discussions with the Iraqi government about the development of the two countries’ bilateral relationship.[/size]
[size=45]The United States has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria, as part of a coalition formed in 2014 to fight ISIS after it overran vast areas of both countries.[/size]
[size=45]At one point in the conflict, ISIS controlled nearly a third of Iraq and Syria, before being defeated in Iraq at the end of 2017 and in Syria in 2019.[/size]
[size=45]The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled Saddam Hussein before withdrawing in 2011, but returned at the head of the coalition in 2014 to fight ISIS.[/size]
[size=45]Other countries are participating in the coalition with hundreds of soldiers, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy.[/size]
[size=45]Under the plan, all coalition forces will leave the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq's Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025, according to a previous Reuters report.[/size]
[size=45]Wafaa Jabai - Washington[/size]
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