US forces have completed their withdrawal from Iraq, the Pentagon announced today, ending more than two decades of US military presence in the country, DPA and Associated Press reported.
The United States and its coalition partners have officially ended Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq after a 12-year campaign against the jihadist group Islamic State, the Pentagon said.
The withdrawal of the last coalition forces and equipment from the Erbil air base marks the "successful conclusion" of the military mission, the US Department of Defense said, stressing that the responsibility for dealing with remaining security threats, including Islamic State cells, now lies primarily with Iraqi forces, although Washington will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support.
"This important milestone reflects the success of the 12-year campaign that defeated the Islamic State as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region," said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. "It also marks the transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by more normal bilateral security relations," he stressed.
Earlier today, Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji described the end of the mission as an "important achievement."
"Today we achieve an important achievement with the end of the international coalition mission and the presence of its forces, moving to bilateral relations with member states," al-Araji said.
"The victory over the (Islamic State) gangs was achieved thanks to the sacrifices of the Iraqi people and the bravery of our armed forces, with the support of the international coalition and brotherly and friendly countries - a role that we deeply value and appreciate," al-Araji said, according to the Iraqi news agency. INA
In 2003, the United States, along with its allies, invaded Iraq and toppled longtime leader Saddam Hussein. American forces withdrew in 2011, but returned in 2014 at the request of the Iraqi government after the "Islamic State" seized large areas of Iraq and neighboring Syria. In 2017, the "Islamic State" was declared defeated in Iraq, although some of its cells continued to operate, DPA noted.