WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (NNN-XINHUA) – The U.S.-led international mission, formed a decade ago, to combat the Daesh extremist group in Iraq will cease to exist by Sept, 2025, said a joint statement issued yesterday by the U.S. and Iraqi governments.
There will be, however, a “transitioning to bilateral security partnerships, in a manner that supports Iraqi forces and maintains pressure on the Daesh,” said the statement, which on the U.S. part was carried by the State Department’s website, using the abbreviation of an alternative name of the Daesh known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The coalition’s military mission in neighbouring Syria, where the Daesh also operates, “will continue until Sept, 2026,” the statement said.
The statement provided few details as to what, if any, number of U.S. troops will leave Iraq, as a result of the end of the mission.
“I just want to foot stomp the fact that this is not a withdrawal. This is a transition. It’s a transition from a coalition military mission to an expanded U.S.-Iraqi bilateral security relationship,” a senior U.S. official told reporters during a briefing, yesterday.
The United States has some 2,500 military personnel in Iraq and roughly 900 troops in Syria, tasked with the mission of fighting Daesh militants, while also serving as trainers and advisers to local security forces.– NNN-XINHUA