Iraq denies combat troops on its soil, says advisor withdrawal nearing

Shafaq News/ Iraq denied on Thursday having any US combat troops on its soil, saying only advisors were present under the umbrella of a Washington-led international coalition fighting Islamic State (ISIS).

"These advisors are covered by the outcomes of the Joint Military Committee, and both parties adhere to the established mechanisms and their outcomes," the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the two sides were close to agreeing on a final date for the withdrawal of all coalition advisors from Iraq, but recent developments had delayed the announcement.

"We were very close to announcing this agreement, but due to recent developments, the announcement of the end of the Global Coalition's military mission in Iraq has been postponed," it said.

Iraq stressed that its bilateral relationship with the United States, including security cooperation, was separate from its ties with the coalition.

"This relationship existed before the coalition and will continue after it," the ministry said.

Last month, security sources reported that Iraq wants troops from a US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing in September and to formally end the coalition's work by September 2025. 

U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq in 2003, toppled former leader Saddam Hussein, and then withdrew in 2011, only to return in 2014 to fight Islamic State at the head of the coalition.

The U.S. currently has around 2,500 troops in Iraq at the head of a more than 80-member coalition that was formed in 2014 to repel Islamic State as it rampaged across Iraq and Syria.

They are housed at three main bases: one in Baghdad, one in the western al-Anbar governorate, and another in the northern Kurdistan region.