ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US and international coalition forces in Erbil have begun withdrawing ahead of a September 30 deadline to end the coalition’s military mission in Iraq, the Iraqi armed forces spokesperson told Rudaw on Monday, saying no foreign troops will remain in the country after the date. “The United States and the coalition are currently in the withdrawal phase,” Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Iraq’s commander-in-chief of the armed forces, confirmed to Rudaw's Malik Mohammed. “The coalition is withdrawing from Erbil in coordination with the office of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces,“ adding that “After September 30, not a single foreign soldier will remain anywhere in Iraq,” including forces in the Kurdistan Region. The withdrawal comes as part of the US-led coalition's military mission’s transition from a security partnership under Operation Inherent Resolve, established to combat the Islamic State (ISIS), toward a broader bilateral framework between Washington and Baghdad. A formal ceremony is set to be held following the withdrawal under the banner of a “Large Sovereignty Conference," according to Numan, marking the end of the coalition’s mission, and the closure of its headquarters will be held in Baghdad under the supervision of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. According to the General Secretariat for the Council of Ministries, the conference will be held on October 1st under the Iraqi prime minister’s supervision to mark what the government describes as the full restoration of Iraq’s sovereignty. The date coincides with Iraq’s officially designated Sovereignty Day, which the government has instructed state institutions and governorates to commemorate through public events and activities. Washington has also reaffirmed its commitment to completing the withdrawal. A US State Department spokesperson told Rudaw earlier in September that the United States is “proceeding with the mutually determined transition timeline for coalition forces to end military operations in Iraq.” The withdrawal has raised security concerns in the Kurdistan Region. KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Monday the departure comes at a “critical time,” noting that the region has faced more than 1,000 missile and drone attacks. Barzani said leaving the Kurdistan Region without a defense system was “a cause for concern,” while warning that continued instability in Iraq’s security situation could threaten the country’s federal system. The latest attack comes as the Kurdistan Region continues to face repeated Iranian drone and missile strikes, despite Kurdish leaders’ calls for the region to remain outside the US-Iran conflict. More than 1,000 such attacks have been recorded since February 28, according to Rudaw tracking.
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