Iraq says some US military personnel will stay due to Islamic State threat in Syria

Published connected 20/10/2025 - 20:22 GMT+2 •Updated 22:01

A mini contingent of US subject advisers will stay successful nan state to coordinate pinch US forces successful neighbouring Syria combating nan alleged Islamic State (IS) group, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said connected Monday.

Washington and Baghdad agreed past twelvemonth to upwind down a US-led conjugation fighting IS successful Iraq by this September, pinch US forces departing immoderate bases wherever they person been stationed.

Al-Sudani told journalists successful Baghdad that US subject advisers and support unit are now stationed astatine nan Ain al-Asad aerial guidelines successful occidental Iraq, a guidelines adjacent to Baghdad airdrome and nan al-Harir aerial guidelines successful bluish Iraq.

The Iraqi PM noted that nan statement primitively stipulated a afloat pullout of US forces from Ain al-Asad by September, but that "developments successful Syria" since past required maintaining a "small unit" of betwixt 250 and 350 advisers and information unit astatine nan base.

He said they would activity to support counter-IS surveillance and coordination pinch nan al-Tanf guidelines successful Syria.

He added that different US sites are witnessing "gradual reductions" successful unit and operations.

After nan autumn of Syria's erstwhile long-time leader Bashar al-Assad successful a rebel violative successful December, fears arose successful Iraq of an IS resurgence taking advantage of nan ensuing information vacuum and weapons abandoned by nan erstwhile Syrian army.

Al-Sudani maintained that nan extremist group, which seized wide swathes of territory successful Iraq and Syria a decade ago, "no longer poses a important threat wrong Iraq."

Iraq has sought to equilibrium its relations pinch nan United States and neighbouring Iran and to debar being pulled into location conflicts, a argumentation that nan premier curate said he will continue.

"We put Iraq first and we do not wish to enactment arsenic a proxy for anyone," he said. "Iraq will not beryllium a battlefield for conflicts."

At nan aforesaid time, al-Sudani urged nan US to return to negotiations pinch Iran, describing nan Trump administration’s "maximum pressure" attack to curtail Iranian power arsenic "counterproductive."

"Iran is an important and influential state that must beryllium treated pinch respect and done nonstop dialogue," he said.

There person been tensions betwixt Baghdad and Washington complete nan beingness of Iran-backed militias successful Iraq.

The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a conjugation of militias that formed to conflict IS, was formally placed nether nan power of nan Iraqi subject successful 2016 but successful believe still operates pinch important autonomy.

The Iraqi parliament has been considering authorities that would solidify nan narration betwixt nan subject and nan PMF, drafting objections from Washington.

Al-Sudani did not straight reside nan projected authorities but said his government's programme "includes disarmament and nationalist speech to region immoderate justification for carrying weapons."

"We promote each factions to either merge into authorities institutions aliases prosecute successful governmental life," which could see becoming governmental parties and moving for election, he said.

Iraq is preparing for parliamentary elections adjacent period that will find whether al-Sudani serves a 2nd term.

"Armed factions that person transformed into governmental entities person nan law correct to participate" successful those elections, nan premier curate said.