Kadhimi says withdrawal of coalition combat forces from Iraq is complete

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said on Wednesday, December 29, that the International Coalition to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) has completed the withdrawal of its combat forces in the country.

"The Coalition have fully completed their combat role after transfer of personnel and material outside of Iraq,” Kadhimi said in a post to Twitter.

The prime minister said the Coalition’s role will now be to advise and support Iraqi forces.

"We thank the leadership of the Coalition, its members, our partners and neighbors in combating Daesh [ISIS],” Kadhimi said. "Our security forces stand ready to defend our people.”

Tahsin al-Khafaji, the spokesman for Joint Operations Command, said on Tuesday the advisors at Iraqi bases were very few in number and stated the coalition had completely changed from a combat to advisory role, according to Iraqi News Agency.

The US-led coalition ended its combat mission in Iraq in December 2021 as part of an agreement between Washington and Baghdad.

US President Joe Biden said in July US forces will continue to train Iraqi forces to combat the Islamic State (ISIS).

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