US-led coalition begins withdrawal from Kurdish Iraq

The international coalition led by the USA to combat the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) in Iraq has begun its withdrawal from the Kurdistan Region before the official end of the mission. The armed forces have been withdrawn from their positions in northern Iraq and are now stationed only at Erbil airport, a senior Iraqi official told the AFP news agency on Thursday.

Under an agreement between Baghdad and Washington reached in 2024, the withdrawal must be completed this year. Then the coalition's operation against IS in Iraq ends. At the beginning of the year, the troops had already left bases in other parts of Iraq and were then only present in Kurdistan. The anti-IS troops also withdrew from Syria at the beginning of the year.

The international coalition was formed in 2014 after IS captured large parts of Syria and Iraq and committed massacres and other atrocities there. The terrorist militia was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019.

Although Islamist fighters continue to entrench themselves in desert or mountain regions, their attacks have declined dramatically. Iraqi forces also continue to carry out operations against the jihadists.

The coalition's presence in Iraq - particularly after the defeat of ISIS - has been a point of contention between Iraqi authorities and pro-Iranian groups in the country. The Iranian-backed groups regularly attacked coalition forces, most recently to support Tehran in the Iran War.

Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Saidi has promised to enforce the state's arms monopoly and ensure that groups hand over their weapons. While some groups have said they would join state institutions, others have refused, citing the continued presence of foreign troops.