A Pentagon official said on Saturday that determining when and how the international coalition’s mission in Iraq will end is up to President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, according to the American magazine “Newsweek.”
The American magazine quoted the American official as saying: “As clearly stated in the joint statement between President Biden and the Sudanese Prime Minister, the two leaders confirm that they will review these factors to determine when and how the international coalition’s mission in Iraq will end, and move in an orderly manner towards sustainable bilateral security partnerships, based on the Iraqi constitution and the strategic framework agreement between the United States and Iraq.”
“We have no new announcements to make at this time,” he added.
The information that Reuters reported Friday, quoting several American and Iraqi sources, spoke about the two countries reaching an agreement that defines the plans for the withdrawal of the US-led coalition forces, after 6 months of talks between them.
According to this information, hundreds of American soldiers will leave by September 2025, including all soldiers stationed at the Ain al-Asad base, and a large number of soldiers from Baghdad, while an American force and other coalition forces will remain in Erbil until the end of 2026 to continue operations against ISIS in Syria.
shafaq.com
