Iraq calls for complete withdrawal of US troops by 2025

Iraq is calling for the complete withdrawal of US troops by next year, with the process beginning as early as this year, sources familiar with the discussions told Al Arabiya English, News.Az reports.

Talks are being held in Washington this week on the future role of the American military, currently in Iraq at the invitation of Baghdad.

Earlier this month, the top Pentagon official for Middle East policy and the US ambassador to Baghdad met with Iraq’s prime minister to follow up on American troop withdrawal talks.

Reuters previously reported, citing Iraqi sources, that Iraq wants troops from a US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing in September and to formally end the coalition’s work by September 2025.

US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller told a news briefing that both sides were meeting in Washington this week to determine how to transition the US-led coalition’s mission based on the threat posed by ISIS, adding he had no further details.

US-led forces invaded Iraq in 2003, toppled former leader Saddam Hussein and then withdrew in 2011, only to return in 2014 to fight ISIS at the head of the coalition.

The US currently has around 2,500 troops in Iraq at the head of a more than 80-member coalition that was formed in 2014 to repel ISIS as it rampaged across Iraq and Syria.

They are housed at three main bases, one in Baghdad, one in western Anbar province and another in the northern Kurdistan region.

News.Az