Iraq and the USA have agreed on a timetable for how and when all foreign military forces fighting Islamist militant groups will leave the country.
This is stated by Iraq's Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbassi in the Saudi TV channel al-Hadath.
According to him, the international coalition will leave bases in most of Iraq in September 2025 and in Kurdistan a year later.
Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani demanded at New Year's that the forces would leave the country, but months-long talks between Iraq and the USA have so far been fruitless.
Last summer, the USA warned that IS is trying to re-establish itself in the region. The terrorist organization claimed in July that it was behind a total of 153 attacks in Iraq and Syria in 2024.
The international forces in Iraq have been in place since 2014 to, among other things, combat the terrorist organization IS. The USA has around 2,500 soldiers in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the operation.
