SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi discussed the withdrawal of U.S.-led Coalition troops from Iraq with Ambassador Matthew Tueller, as the United States is preparing to withdraw combating forces in the country.
Kadhimi met with Tueller in Baghdad on Saturday, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
They discussed “the progress made in ending the combat role of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq and shifting to advise and support role,” the statement read.
In July, U.S. President Joe Biden and Kadhimi, who was in Washington for a visit, agreed to formally end the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021, more than 18 years after American troops were sent to the country.
Spokesman of the Iraqi joint operations command Tahseen al-Khafaji said last month that the foreign combat forces would leave Iraq within 15 days, except for advisors who will stay to support the Iraqi forces.
“Ending the presence of the foreign forces is proceeding according to the plan, and there no military base for them except for limited presence in Ayn al-Asad air base in the western province of Anbar,” he said, according to Xinhua news outlet.
On January 5, 2020, the Iraqi council of representatives passed a resolution requiring the government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country.
