Iraq, US agree to phased coalition troop pullout
(VOVWORLD) - Iraq and the United States have agreed to a phased pullout of the US-led anti-jihadist coalition but have yet to sign a final agreement, the Iraqi defense minister said Sunday.
 US soldiers at Basmaya base, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The US has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of an international coalition against the group that calls itself the Islamic State.
They have been engaged in months of talks with Baghdad on a withdrawal of forces, but have not announced any timeline so far.
On Sunday, Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbassi told pan-Arab television channel Al-Hadath that the coalition will pull out from bases in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq by September 2025 and from the autonomous northern Kurdistan region by September 2026.
Abbassi said the pullout will be "two-phased" and they will likely sign the agreement within the next few days. He added that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said two years are not enough to carry out the withdrawal, but Iraq refused a proposal to add a third year.