ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Saturday that the threat from the Islamic State (ISIS) still exists, as Iraq prepares to end the military mission of the global coalition against the terror group.
“We don't think that terrorism has come to an end, we think ISIS is still intact and they have active members. They are active in different parts of - not only in Iraq but in the region and elsewhere in the world. We need to have that global coalition to fight terrorism,” Barzani said during a panel at the Middle East Peace and Security (MEPS) forum in Duhok.
Iraq and the United States in September jointly announced an agreement to end the military mission of the US-led international coalition no later than September 2025 and transition to “bilateral security partnerships in a manner that supports Iraqi forces and maintains pressure on ISIS.”
Barzani said that despite the existence of a deadline to end the coalition’s mission in Iraq, this does not constitute an end to the relationship, especially with the US.
“If the mission is no longer needed because Iraq feels stronger today and it can face the challenges and control the security situations in the country, that doesn't mean the relationship between Iraq and the United States will come to an end,” Barzani said, adding that he hopes Baghdad manages to maintain its friendships with coalition member countries.
“So we hope Iraq can manage its relationship with all of its partners... on bilateral levels, to maintain the good relations where Iraq can benefit from the friendships developed with all these partners,” he said.
US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski, during a panel at the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Forum in Erbil last month, said that the change in mission is a recognition of the work the coalition has been doing.
“The security forces in Iraq and frankly here in Iraqi Kurdistan have been making progress to be able to continue the enduring defeat of ISIS, which is the mission of the coalition - that’s why we were all invited here ten years ago,” she said.
ISIS seized controlled swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014. To combat the group, Iraq requested assistance from the US and international allies, three years after Washington withdrew its troops from the country.
The US-led global coalition provided both the Iraqi army and the Kurdish Peshmerga with air and ground support, as well as training and equipment, as they fought to retake the country from the extremists, ultimately declaring the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2017.
Iraqi officials have said that the threat from the terror group is now contained, though it continues to carry out regular operations against suspected ISIS militants.
US forces will continue operations at some level in Iraq through 2026 to support the coalition mission in northeast Syria (Rojava).
