US, Iraq To Issue Statement On Thursday As US Combat Role Deadline Approaches - Pentagon

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2021) The United States and Iraq will issue a joint statement on Thursday following the final meeting of the Iraqi Military Technical Committee on the eve of the end of the US combat role in the country, Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby said.

"There will be a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, so I would stay tuned for that. What I can tell you is that the United States will uphold our commitments, the commitments we made back in July, including that there will be no US forces with a combat role by the end of the year," Kirby said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in November confirmed that the United States will remove all forces with a combat role from Iraq by the end of the year.

US forces will remain in Iraq at the invitation of the government of Iraq in an advising, assisting, enabling and intelligence-sharing role to support the Iraqi security forces and their fight against the Islamic State terror group (banned in Russia), Kirby added.