The United States will withdraw all troops from Iraq by September 30.
This information was announced in a statement issued by the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Wednesday.
The statement said that the operation of the global coalition against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq is coming to an end. All foreign troops will leave Iraq by September 30. This deadline is set and final. There will be no more foreign troops in Iraq from October 1. The day was also mentioned as historic for Iraq.
The statement said the deadline for the withdrawal of US troops was set after Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met with General Brad Cooper, commander of the US Central Command, CENTCOM.
The Iraqi Prime Minister visited Washington in mid-July. During that visit, he met with General Brad Cooper.
The statement on Wednesday said that after the withdrawal of troops, the United States and Iraq will respect each other’s sovereignty and bilateral interests. The two countries will focus on further strengthening cooperative relations in the economic and security sectors.
The operation began after the overthrow of Saddam
The US military presence in Iraq began 23 years ago. In 2003, the United States launched an operation to overthrow the country’s then-President Saddam Hussein.
On March 19 of that year, US forces began a military campaign in Iraq. Nine months later, Saddam Hussein was arrested. After a nearly three-year trial, he was executed in the early hours of December 30, 2006.
According to the terms, US forces were supposed to leave Iraq after the death of Saddam Hussein. But shortly after that, the international terrorist group Islamic State (IS) emerged in the country.
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Washington decided to continue military operations in Iraq to suppress and eliminate ISIS, and the presence of US troops in the country was prolonged.
‘Iraqi forces are now capable’
The Associated Press (AP) contacted the Pentagon for more information about the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
A Pentagon official told the AP that the United States, Iraq and coalition partners have shown “tremendous success” in defeating ISIS, adding that the Iraqi military is well-equipped to defeat the terrorist groups currently present in Iraq.
However, the official did not disclose how many US troops are currently in Iraq.
