US will uphold commitments, end combat mission in Iraq in 2021: Pentagon

On Saturday, November 20, Pentagon confirmed that the US military mission in Iraq will conclude before the end of this year. The declaration came after US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Iraqi Defense Minister Jumah Inad Sadun al-Jaburi in Manama, Bahrain, as part of the annual Manama Dialogue.

"The United States will uphold the commitments it made during the July 2021 US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue, including that there will be no US forces with a combat role by the end of the year," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said in a statement, cited by ANI. 

'Committed to supporting Iraq's security forces against ISIS': US Defense Secretary

According to the statement, Austin also told Iraq's defence minister that American troops will stay in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government to assist the country's security forces. Additionally, the two sides talked about the next phase of the US military engagement in Iraq, which will involve "advising, aiding, and sharing intelligence with Iraqi Security Forces in support of the campaign to defeat ISIS." Pentagon chief Austin once again criticised the recent attack on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's residence and expressed optimism that the establishment of a new government in Iraq would be peaceful. 

Iraq questions C-RAM system failure following attack on PM Al-Kadhimi's residence

It should be mentioned here that, earlier this month, Iraq questioned the US military system failure during the attack on PM al-Kadhimi's house. Iraq's Joint Operations Command (JOC) questioned as to why the US military’s counter rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) installations appeared to have been inoperable during the attack on the PM’s residence, situated in the Green Zone which also houses the American Embassy and other diplomatic buildings, according to Iran's Press TV. The C-RAM system sounds sirens to warn of potential incoming attacks and fires off rapid-fire machine guns to shoot down hostile air targets. The system was activated last year and has been repeatedly used to protect Green Zone airspace. 

Iraq and the US began discussing the partial withdrawal of American combat forces from the Middle Eastern country in December 2019. The Iraqi Council of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution in January 2020, following major protests and an escalation of tensions between the US and Iran, to "expel all foreign forces from their country."

The then US President Donald Trump initially declined to withdraw troops from Iraq but began doing so in March. Later in July this year, President Joe Biden declared that the US combat mission in Iraq would be ended by 2021, with remaining US troops working in an advisory capacity.

(With inputs from ANI, Image: @DefenceHQ/ANI/Twitter)