Iraq announces end to US-led combat role with no fanfare

Jared Szuba

Commanding officers of the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (R) and senior Iraqi commanders (L) meet at the Joint Operations Center in Baghdad's Green Zone, Dec. 9, 2021. The US-led coalition against the Islamic State group has finished its combat mission in Iraq and will shift to a training and advisory role, Iraq's national security adviser said Dec. 9. — AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images

Iraq’s national security adviser said today that the US-led military coalition had completed its combat mission in Iraq, but American troops aren’t leaving the country just yet.

Qasim al-Araji announced the completion of the long-planned transition on Twitter on Thursday.

US troop levels in Iraq have not notably changed in recent months, press secretary John Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon. Some 2,500 US military personnel remain in the country as part of the multinational coalition to defeat the Islamic State (IS).

“There’s no significant posture change in Iraq right now,” Kirby said today. “This is a change in mission, not necessarily a change in posture.”

Iraq announces end to US-led combat role with no fanfare

The defeat-IS coalition will continue its advisory mission into next year, despite a declared end to a combat role.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

Continue reading this exclusive analysis

Original reporting and analysis unavailable elsewhere. Subscribe to AL-MONITOR to read this story and access everything we publish

Read By