BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. military has begun drawing down its mission in Iraq under an agreement signed with the Iraqi government last year, eventually reducing the number of American troops in the country focused on countering the Islamic State group by about 20%, officials said.Washington and Baghdad agreed last year under the Biden administration to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting IS by this September, with U.S. forces departing some bases where troops have been stationed during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement late Tuesday that the U.S. “will reduce its military mission in Iraq,” reflecting “our combined success in fighting ISIS.”A senior defense official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements, said the military has begun to shift the burden for combating the Islamic State group in Iraq from U.S. and coalition forces to Iraqi troops who have been trained by the American military for about a decade.
The start of the drawdown in Iraq comes just months after the Trump administration also decided to withdraw about 600 troops from Syria, leaving fewer than 1,000 to work with Kurdish allies to counter the Islamic State there. The militant group still carries out deadly attacks in both countries, and worries remain about IS following upheaval in Syria and wider turmoil in the Middle East.
