The U.S.-led international mission formed a decade ago to combat the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq will cease to exist by September 2025, said a joint statement issued Friday by the U.S. and Iraqi governments.
There will be, however, a "transitioning to bilateral security partnerships in a manner that supports Iraqi forces and maintains pressure on ISIS," said the statement, which on the U.S. part was carried by the State Department's website, using the abbreviation of an alternative name of the Islamic State known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
According to the statement, the Iraq-U.S. Higher Military Commission which consists of representatives from both sides will formulate necessary measures to ensure the safety of coalition advisors present in Iraq during the transitional period.
The coalition's military mission in neighboring Syria, where the Islamic State also operates, "will continue until September 2026," the statement said.
The statement provided few details as to what, if any, number of U.S. troops will leave Iraq as a result of the end of the mission.
"I just want to foot stomp the fact that this is not a withdrawal. This is a transition. It's a transition from a coalition military mission to an expanded U.S.-Iraqi bilateral security relationship," a senior U.S. official told reporters during a briefing Friday.
The United States has some 2,500 military personnel in Iraq and roughly 900 troops in Syria, tasked with the mission of fighting Islamic State militants while also serving as trainers and advisors to local security forces.
U.S.-led coalition mission in Iraq drawing to end by September 2025
