Afp

The newspaper La Jornada
Monday, September 9, 2024, p. 31

Baghdad. Iraq and the United States reached an agreement on a development agenda withdrawal of troops from the international anti-jihadist coalition on Iraqi territory, said yesterday Thabet Abasi, Minister of Defense of the Arab country.

The agreement that was achieved with the United States provides for a withdrawal of the troops in two stagesthe official said in an interview with the pan-Arab television station Al Hadath.

The first phase, which was due to begin this month, will continue until September 2025 and would involve personnel from both nations at military bases in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq, most notably Ain Asad.

The second part contemplates the same date from 2025 to 2026, and concerns Kurdistan autonomous region in northern Iraq. Abasi said they had rejected the proposal for an additional year.

Perhaps in the next few days we will sign the agreement reached in Washington.explained the minister, who acknowledged that there was an initial postponement due to the explosive regional situation and the elections in the United StatesThe agreement has yet to be signed, he added.

Iraq claims the end of mission of the association and the withdrawal foreign advisors, and hopes to replace this device after a strengthening of bilateral agreements in the military field, especially with the Americans.

The Pentagon has some 2,500 troops in Iraq and nearly 900 in Syria as part of an international partnership that was formed in 2014 to combat the Islamic State.

The pact also includes military personnel from other countries, including France and Great Britain.