United States troops are set to fully withdraw from Iraq by September 30, the country's prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, said at a meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington.
"Well, we don't think we need the military there anymore," Trump said at the White House.
Previously, around 2,500 US troops were deployed in the country, carrying out counter-Islamic State operations, but that number has declined in recent months.US troops remained in Erbil in the Kurdish region, at a base near Baghdad airport and in the capital's government district known as the Green Zone [FILE: August 23, 2020]Image: Thaier Al-Sudani/File PhotoU*/REUTERS
Al-Zaidi's government has tied the planned US withdrawal to the disarming of powerful Iran-backed militias.
"On September 30th, American forces will leave, and American companies will enter," Zaidi said. "After 30 September, we will not allow any entity to bear arms outside the state."
