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Biden: U.S. to end combat mission in Iraq by year end
Updated 12:21, 27-Jul-2021
CGTN

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday the U.S. military will end its combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year.

"Our role in Iraq will be to ... continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIL as it arises, but we're not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission," Biden said during a meeting with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the Oval Office.

"Our counter-terrorism cooperation will continue even as we shift to this new phase," he said.

For his part, al-Kadhimi thanked the United States for its support.

The Iraqi prime minister had told the Associated Press ahead of the visit that there is no need for any foreign combat forces staying in Iraq. "What we want from the U.S. presence in Iraq is to support our forces in training and developing their efficiency and capabilities, and in security cooperation," he said.

A joint U.S.-Iraq statement said the security relationship will be focused on training, advising and intelligence-sharing – a shift from a U.S. combat role announced in April, when a joint U.S.-Iraqi statement said this transition allowed for the removal from Iraq of any remaining U.S. combat forces on a timetable to be determined later.

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The U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq in 2011, eight years after the U.S.-led invasion, and returned in 2014 to support the Iraqi forces in the fight against the ISIL militants.

Immediately after the deaths of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad airport in January last year, the Iraqi parliament passed a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in Iraq.

Presently, there are about 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq after former U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a reduction from 3,000 last year. 

White House press secretary on Monday declined to provide the number of troops staying in Iraq by the year end.

The U.S. media said the move may not lead to a significant reduction of the U.S. military presence in Iraq, given most of the American troops in the country have already been taking training and advising roles for the Iraqi forces.

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