Iraq no longer required the presence of "foreign combat forces" on its territories to combat ISIS, announced Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Monday.
Sudani was speaking during a meeting with commanders of the Armed Forces and Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), members of the Ministries of Interior and Defense, and the military forces that took part in the war against the ISIS terrorist organization.
ISIS still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members across its former stronghold in Syria and Iraq, and its fighters pose the most severe terrorist threat in Afghanistan today, a UN panel of experts told the Security Council.
"Presently, Iraq does not require the presence of foreign combat units within its borders," Sudani said, announcing that there are ongoing discussions with the anti-ISIS international coalition partners to chart the course for future cooperation and collaboration against the group.
He reiterated the unwavering commitment of the Armed Forces to their professional, constitutional, and legal duties and underscored their role in fostering development, consolidating security, maintaining civil peace, and safeguarding a dignified life for all Iraqi citizens.
The liberation of Mosul was one of the critical battles that defied expectations at a time when everyone expected that the matter was settled in favor of the ISIS terrorist state and the end of the state of Iraq, said Sudani.
He asserted that ISIS did not only target Iraq, but rather, it was a giant conspiracy that targeted countries in the region.
Sudani noted that after the liberation from ISIS, a renewed sense of unity arose among Iraqis, overcoming the sectarian violence and division from previous years.
Sudani became Iraq's prime minister at the end of October 2022, and since then, most of the attacks on army camps and convoys of logistical support for the international coalition forces stopped.
Last June, the foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They underscored the need to enhance civilian-led counterterrorism and counter-terrorist financing capabilities in Iraq in the long term, along with stabilization efforts in areas liberated from ISIS.
