Iraq has postponed an announcement on the date for an end to the US-led coalition’s mission in the country, the foreign ministry stated on 16 August. The postponement is due to the “latest developments,” the ministry said, without specifying further.
The US-Iraq Higher Military Commission, comprising officials from both countries, discussed details of withdrawing advisers from military sites, the foreign ministry added in its statement.
It said the only remaining issues before reaching a deal on ending the coalition’s mission in Iraq were agreement on an announcement date, logistical aspects, and other details.
A foreign ministry official told Reuters that the end of the coalition’s mission should be announced in early September.
Iraq wants troops from the US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing advisers in September and to formally end its presence by September 2025, Reuters added, with some US forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity.
The decision comes after troops from the US-led international coalition returned to the K-1 military base in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk in early August. It was the first deployment of US troops in the oil-rich city since 2020.
The 2,500 US troops in Iraq support the 900 US troops occupying northeast Syria in partnership with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Iraqi armed forces increased security along the country’s western border with Syria in mid-July following the release of hundreds of ISIS fighters from prison camps controlled by the US-backed SDF.
Authorities from the SDF-controlled Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) issued a general amnesty that has so far secured the release of over 1,500 Syrian ISIS fighters convicted of terrorism-related offenses, provided they “did not participate directly in combat” against the SDF.
Informed Iraqi sources speaking with The Cradle stated the US military ordered the release of the ISIS prisoners.
Hellbound and Down 