Baghdad, Iraq – Iraq said on Sunday US-led coalition forces had finished withdrawing from bases within the country’s federal territory, which excludes the autonomous northern Kurdistan region.
The jihadist group was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, but continues to operate sleeper cells.
The vast majority of coalition troops withdrew from Iraq over previous stages, with only advisers remaining in the country.
The military committee on Sunday said Iraqi forces were now “fully capable of preventing the reappearance of IS in Iraq and its infiltration across borders”.
“Coordination with the international coalition will continue with regards to completely eliminating IS’s presence in Syria,” it added.
It pointed to “the coalition’s role in Iraq offering cross-border logistical support for operations in Syria, through their presence at an airbase in Erbil”, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
In December, two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in Syria in an attack blamed on IS, sparking fears of a resurgence in the country.
The statement added that anti-IS operations would be coordinated with the coalition through the Ain al-Assad base in Anbar province in western Iraq.
IS attacks in Iraq have massively declined in recent years, but the group maintains a presence in the country’s mountainous areas.
A UN Security Council report in August said: “In Iraq, the group has focused on rebuilding networks along the Syrian border and restoring capacity in the Badia region.”
