Coalition forces to withdraw from Iraq: officials
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – On Thursday, Iraqi officials and leaders of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS announced that the combat mission of the coalition forces has ended and will withdraw from Iraq.
In a press conference, Qasim al-Araji, Iraq’s national security advisor, “the last round of dialogue with the International Coalition, which started last year, has finished.”
He officially announced the end of the Coalition’s combat mission and their withdrawal from Iraq.
The announcement followed a meeting in the Security Media Cell headquarters, attended by Commander NATO Mission Iraq, Lieutenant General Michael, deputies of commander of Global Coalition, the director of joint administration among agencies and civil environment and head of security cooperation office in the US Embassy.
“The relationship of Iraqi forces with the international coalition continues in the fields of training, advising and capacity building,” al-Araji added.
“Deputy Chief of Staff, leaders of ground and aerial weapons, the air defense, the army air forces, head of military intelligence and representative of the Ministry of Peshmerga have showed the draft list for institutional cooperation scheduled by Iraqi forces, coalition forces and the NATO delegate to focus on the joint role for the next 24 months,” commander of the Security Media Cell, Sa’ad Ma’an, said.
Ma’an cited coalition forces as saying “upholding our commitment, there will be no combat role by the end of this year.
Ma’an congratulated the attendees that the combat mission will end sooner than its deadline.
The parties which participated in the meeting resumed commitment to permanent cooperation with coalition forces and specified clearly the mechanism through which the coalition will support Iraqi security forces-led operations, according to Ma’an.
The joint operation leadership and cooperation forces discussed the recent military actions against ISIS, the ways the Iraqi forces will coordinate the operations and the support provided by the coalition forces and the NATO to develop the capacity of institutions and operation, al-Araji said.
“Individuals of the coalition forces will stay in Iraq to provide consultancy, help and empowerment of Iraqi forces to be able to accomplish its goals. Their existence in Iraq will be in accordance with the Iraq sovereignty, laws and international norms,” al-Araji added.
In turn, the Iraqi government pledged to provide security protection to members of the Global Coalition and the NATO