ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States and Iraq on Friday announced they had reached an agreement to end the military mission of the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq within a year. The mission will continue in northeast Syria (Rojava) for the next two years. The military mission of the US-led coalition will wrap up “over the next twelve months, and no later than the end of September 2025, and transitioning to bilateral security partnerships in a manner that supports Iraqi forces and maintains pressure on ISIS,” read a joint statement from the US and Iraq. The statement also said that the anti-ISIS mission in Rojava will continue for another year after the one in Iraq ends. “As Iraq is a key member of the Coalition, and to prevent the return of the ISIS terrorist threat from northeast Syria, and subject to conditions on the ground and consultations among Iraq, the United States, and the members of the Coalition, the military mission of the Coalition operating in Syria from a platform determined in the HMC will continue until September 2026,” read the statement, referring to the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission which has overseen the negotiations. US forces will continue operations at some level in Iraq through 2026 to support the coalition mission in Rojava, senior government and defence officials told reporters on Friday. “Our agreement with Iraq to maintain a presence in Iraq, of the coalition to conduct counter-ISIS operations in Syria through at least September 2026 is evidence of Iraq’s continued participation in that coalition as a member in good standing,” said a senior defense official. Over the next year in Iraq, the US will “stay connected in an advise-and-assist capacity with the counterterrorism services, the joint operations command, the air force, and the Kurdish Peshmerga, all of whom play a very important role in conducting counter-ISIS missions,” the defense official said, adding that partnership beyond 2025 will be discussed. The joint statement said the agreement was the result of nine months of “intensive” meetings. Baghdad began pushing for a US withdrawal after American forces carried out deadly airstrikes on Iraqi militias in retaliation for drone and rocket attacks. The announcement of the agreement came after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s visit to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly and meet with US officials. Sudani hosted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a meeting on the fringes of the event. “This historic transition marks one decade since the formation of the Coalition’s military mission in Iraq and Iraq continues to engage with the United States and other members of the Coalition to establish bilateral security relations where appropriate,” said the joint statement. Iraqi forces continue to carry out regular operations against ISIS militants, but government officials have said that the threat from the terror group is contained. In its latest report on the anti-ISIS mission, the Pentagon said that the terror group is trying to reform and is “on pace to more than double the number of attacks it claimed in 2023.”
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