US-Iraq Deal Would See Hundreds of Troops Withdraw in First Year, Sources Say

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with Iraq Defense Minister Mohammad Al-Abbasi at the Pentagon in Washington, US, July 23, 2024. (Reuters)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with Iraq Defense Minister Mohammad Al-Abbasi at the Pentagon in Washington, US, July 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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US-Iraq Deal Would See Hundreds of Troops Withdraw in First Year, Sources Say

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with Iraq Defense Minister Mohammad Al-Abbasi at the Pentagon in Washington, US, July 23, 2024. (Reuters)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with Iraq Defense Minister Mohammad Al-Abbasi at the Pentagon in Washington, US, July 23, 2024. (Reuters)

The United States and Iraq have reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, multiple sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The plan, which has been broadly agreed but requires a final go-ahead from both capitals and an announcement date, would see hundreds of troops leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026, the sources said.

"We have an agreement, it's now just a question of when to announce it," a senior US official said.

The US and Iraq are also seeking to establish a new advisory relationship that could see some US troops remain in Iraq after the drawdown.

An official announcement was initially scheduled for weeks ago but was postponed due to regional escalation related to Israel's war in Gaza and to iron out some remaining details, the sources said.

The sources include five US officials, two officials from other coalition nations, and three Iraqi officials, all speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Several sources said the deal could be announced this month.

Farhad Alaaldin, foreign affairs adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, said technical talks with Washington on the coalition drawdown had concluded.

"We are now on the brink of transitioning the relationship between Iraq and members of the international coalition to a new level, focusing on bilateral relations in military, security, economic, and cultural areas," he said.

He did not comment on details of the plan and the US-led coalition did not respond to emailed questions.

The agreement follows more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in January amid attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups on US forces stationed at Iraqi bases.

The rocket and drone attacks have killed three American troops and wounded dozens more, resulting in several rounds of deadly US retaliation that threatened government efforts to stabilize Iraq after decades of conflict.

The US has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to combat ISIS as it rampaged through the two countries.

The extremist group once held roughly a third of Iraq and Syria but was territorially defeated in Iraq at the end of 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Iraq had demonstrated its ability to handle any remaining threat, Alaaldin said.

The US initially invaded Iraq in 2003, toppling ruler Saddam Hussein before withdrawing in 2011, but returned in 2014 at the head of the coalition to fight ISIS.

Other nations, including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, also contribute hundreds of troops to the coalition.

Under the plan, all coalition forces would leave the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025.

US and other coalition troops are expected to remain in Erbil, in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region, for approximately one additional year, until around the end of 2026, to facilitate ongoing operations against ISIS in Syria.

Exact details of troop movements are being kept secret due to their military sensitivity.

The drawdown would mark a notable shift in Washington's military posture in the region.

While primarily focused on countering ISIS, US officials acknowledge their presence also serves as a strategic position against Iranian influence.

This position has grown more important as Israel and Iran escalate their regional confrontation, with US forces in Iraq shooting down rockets and drones fired towards Israel in recent months, according to US officials.

Prime Minister al-Sudani has stated that, while he appreciates their help, US troops have become a magnet for instability, frequently targeted and responding with strikes often not coordinated with the Iraqi government.

The agreement, when announced, would likely present a political win for al-Sudani as he balances Iraq's position as an ally of both Washington and Tehran. The first phase of the drawdown would end one month before Iraqi parliamentary polls set for October 2025.

For the US, the two-year time frame provides "breathing room," allowing for potential adjustments if the regional situation changes, a US official said.

The State Department and US Embassy in Baghdad did not respond to requests for comment.



Drone Strike Targets Port Sudan Naval Base 

A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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Drone Strike Targets Port Sudan Naval Base 

A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows a large plume of smoke and fire rising from fuel depot in Port Sudan, Sudan, May 6, 2025. (Reuters)

A drone strike targeted Sudan's biggest naval base on Wednesday, an army source told AFP, marking the fourth straight day the seat of the army-backed government has come under attack.

It comes a day after the government severed ties with the United Arab Emirates, which it accuses of supplying rival paramilitaries with weapons used to attack the army.

Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast had been a safe haven, hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people and United Nations offices, until Sunday when drone strikes blamed on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries began.

Wednesday's drone strikes "were met with anti-aircraft missiles", the army source said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

An AFP correspondent reported a series of explosions from the direction of the Flamingo Base, just north of the city.

Later Wednesday, residents reported air defenses in action against drones circling above the city.

War has raged since April 2023 between Sudan's regular armed forces and the RSF.

- 'Major escalation' -

Nearly 600 kilometers (375 miles) further south, "three drones attempted to strike airport facilities" in the army-held eastern city of Kassala on Wednesday, near the border with Eritrea, a security source said.

Witnesses told AFP they heard explosions from anti-aircraft missiles west of the city, which has also come under repeated attack this week.

In the city of Merowe in Northern state, around 420 kilometers from Khartoum, residents reported drones overhead being intercepted by anti-aircraft fire.

Nationwide, the war has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted 13 million.

It has also effectively split Sudan in two, with the army controlling the center, north and east, while the RSF holds nearly all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south.

The RSF has not directly commented on this week's attacks on Port Sudan, about 650 kilometers from its nearest known positions on the outskirts of the capital.

A spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called the drone strikes a "major escalation (that) could lead to large-scale civilian casualties and further destruction of critical infrastructure".

Port Sudan is the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Sudan, and Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the attacks "threaten to increase humanitarian needs and further complicate aid operations in the country".

Famine has been declared in some areas in Sudan and nearly 25 million people are suffering dire food insecurity.

The UN also has warned of more "human suffering in what is already the world's largest humanitarian crisis".

- 'Advanced weaponry' -

French medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Wednesday its services in the northern River Nile state have been disrupted after drone attacks targeted a power plant in state capital Atbara.

The attacks caused a major power outage and affected the city's water treatment plant, disrupting access to clean water and risking a surge in waterborne diseases such as cholera, MSF said.

The attacks also scaled down production at the state's oxygen concentration factory, which provides health facilities with oxygen tanks.

MSF said such attacks on infrastructure "have a devastating impact on the health of the local communities" and harm "an already overburdened health system".

The drone campaign comes after the RSF in March lost control of nearly all of greater Khartoum.

The army-backed foreign ministry described the attack on Port Sudan as "a full-fledged crime of aggression", which it said was carried out with "strategic drones and advanced weaponry".

Sudan has accused the UAE of supplying the RSF with the weapons it has used to strike Port Sudan.

The UAE has repeatedly denied arming the RSF.

On Wednesday, it rejected the severing of ties, saying the decision was made by an administration that "does not represent the legitimate government of Sudan".