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A US-led coalition deployed in Iraq more than a decade ago to fight extremists concluded its mission on Wednesday, a move celebrated by the country’s leaders and US President Donald Trump despite fears of emboldened pro-Iran armed factions.
Coalition troops deployed to Iraq and Syria in 2014 to fight the so-called Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, which had seized large swathes of territory, committed massacres, and forced thousands of women and children into slavery.
The group was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, but coalition forces stayed on to battle its remnants.
Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to wind down the mission, and US troops withdrew gradually from bases across the country, restricting their presence to the autonomous northern Kurdistan region.
“This day is a victory for the United States, a victory for Iraq, and a decisive victory over ISIS,” wrote Trump in a post on social media.
“I had a choice to stay or to leave, and felt, without question, that it was time for America to go home,” he added.
The US-led coalition did not defeat IS alone, as it was heavily aided by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, who played an important role, as did powerful Iraqi factions, including pro-Iran groups that have yet to disarm.
The Iraqi government believes it will deprive Tehran-backed factions of the excuse they have used to retain their arsenal. But many fear the pullout might boost the pro-Iran factions and draw the country deeper into the Middle East war.
Hours after the US announced the completion of the pullout, supporters of those groups gathered in a flag-lined public space to celebrate, with speeches delivered from a stage decorated with model drones.
Speaking at the event, a military spokesperson for Kataeb Hezbollah said the factions had been in talks on “regulating” their weapons but “have not yet received a response from the Iraqi government”.
As such, they were “not bound by any timeline or agreement” to surrender their weapons, he added, and retained “the right to directly respond to any American or Zionist violation of Iraq’s sovereignty”.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said “a new phase has begun, defined by Iraq’s sovereignty, the strength of its institutions (and) the readiness of its forces.”
Al-Zaidi, elected this year, has vowed to ensure armed factions hand over their weapons. His government set Thursday as the deadline for factions to disarm, but later said the deadline was meant to mark the start of “regulating” the armed groups.
With several Iran-backed groups refusing to disarm, senior politicians are now hoping to work out a compromise. Factions have put forward conditions that include not only the withdrawal of foreign troops but also an end to American political and economic interference.
Tehran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah has said the withdrawal of “the occupation forces … is a start towards achieving full sovereignty”, but the group also threatened Zaidi’s government.
“A government that doesn’t work for the good of its people will be brought down by all possible means,” it said.
Pro-Iran groups have long demanded the withdrawal of US troops, targeting them with drones and missiles, and triggering US retaliatory strikes that killed several faction commanders over the years.
During the ongoing Iran war, Tehran and allied factions intensified their attacks in Iraq, targeting US-led troops in the Kurdistan region.
Additional sources • AFP, AP