US military starts drawing down mission in Iraq, officials say

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has begun drawing down its mission in Iraq under an agreement inked with the Iraqi government last year, officials said Wednesday.

Washington and Baghdad agreed last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement Wednesday that the U.S. “will reduce its military mission in Iraq,” reflecting “our combined success in fighting ISIS.”

The move “marks an effort to transition to a lasting U.S.-Iraq security partnership in accordance with U.S. national interests, the Iraqi Constitution, and the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement,” he said.

The statement added that Washington will maintain close coordination with Baghdad and coalition partners to ensure a “responsible transition.”

It did not give details on the number of troops that have withdrawn to date or when the drawdown would be completed.

A senior Iraqi security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the U.S. withdrawal began weeks ago from Baghdad and from Ain al-Asad base in western Iraq.

“Only a very small number of advisers remain within the Joint Operations Command,” the official said.

He added that some forces have redeployed to the city of Irbil in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, while others have left the country entirely, and that there is no accurate count of those who have withdrawn yet.

The official said the drawdown is proceeding according to agreed-upon schedules.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told The Associated Press in an interview in July that the U.S. and Iraq will meet by the end of the year to “arrange the bilateral security relationship” between the two countries.

巴格达——官员们周三表示，根据去年与伊拉克政府签署的协议，美军已开始逐步撤出在伊拉克的军事行动。

去年，华盛顿和巴格达同意在 2025 年 9 月之前逐步结束以美国为首的打击伊斯兰国组织的联军在伊拉克的军事任务，美军将撤离他们在伊拉克驻扎了二十年的一些基地。

五角大楼发言人肖恩·帕内尔周三在一份声明中表示，美国“将减少在伊拉克的军事任务”，这反映了“我们在打击ISIS方面取得的共同成功”。

他说，此举“标志着美国正努力根据美国国家利益、伊拉克宪法和《美伊战略框架协议》向持久的美伊安全伙伴关系过渡”。

声明还补充说，华盛顿将与巴格达和联军伙伴保持密切协调，以确保“负责任的过渡”。

声明没有提供迄今为止已撤离的部队人数或撤军何时完成的详细信息。

一位不愿透露姓名的伊拉克高级安全官员表示，美军已于数周前从巴格达和伊拉克西部的阿萨德空军基地开始撤离。他表示，由于未获授权公开评论，因此要求匿名。

“联合行动司令部只剩下极少数顾问，”这位官员说。

他还补充说，一些部队已经重新部署到伊拉克北部半自治的库尔德地区的埃尔比勒市，而另一些部队则完全离开了该国，目前还没有准确统计有多少人已经撤离。

该官员表示，撤资工作正按照既定计划进行。

伊拉克总理穆罕默德·什叶派苏丹尼在7月接受美联社采访时表示，美国和伊拉克将在年底前会面，以“安排两国之间的双边安全关系”。