U.S. withdrawing forces from Iraq
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Political sources revealed on Sunday that U.S. forces have begun withdrawing personnel from Iraq, redeploying them to Erbil in the Kurdistan Region and to a neighboring Arab country.
On Sep. 7, Baghdad and Washington reached an agreement outlining the withdrawal of forces of the U.S.-led Global Coalition from Iraq under a phased plan extending over two years.
The plan stipulates that several hundred Coalition troops will leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026.
However, according to the sources cited by Sky News Arabia, Washington has unexpectedly decided to withdraw all its forces from the Ain al-Assad and Victoria bases in Iraq.
The sources added that the United States has informed the Iraqi government that it intends to accelerate the withdrawal and will not adhere to the previously agreed-upon timeline under the framework agreement between Baghdad and Washington.
This development comes amid heightened tensions over the U.S. military presence in Iraq, as the Baghdad government seeks to establish a new framework for regulating its relationship with the Global Coalition more than two decades after the American invasion of Iraq, according to press reports.
Commenting on the issue, Iraqi political analyst Ibrahim al-Sarraj told North Press that if the U.S. withdrawal from the Ain al-Asad and Victoria bases takes place in a genuine manner, “it would grant Iraq a measure of sovereignty.”
He said that there is skepticism regarding whether the United States is truly pulling its forces from the two bases, noting that the Iraqi government has not yet confirmed the withdrawal.
Neither the Iraqi government nor the United States has commented on reports of an accelerated U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.