Despite Washington’s announcement that US troops withdrawing from Syria would help protect the Iraqi border from Islamic State infiltration, the Iraqi army said in an Oct. 23 statement that the presence of these forces is temporary and that they must leave the country soon.

Iraq's statement reflects the confusion caused by the military operation Turkey launched Oct. 9 in areas of eastern Syria controlled by Kurdish forces. Based on contradictory social media posts, it appears Baghdad and Washington did not coordinate in advance about the future of the withdrawing troops, or the fate of thousands of IS detainees held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper had said his country’s troops would continue to carry out operations against IS on the Iraqi side of the Syrian border to prevent IS from reemerging. According to Esper, more than 700 soldiers have been moved from Syria to Iraq, while 200 to 300 US soldiers remain at the al-Tanf border point with Iraq and Jordan in southern Syria. 

But Esper said during his Oct. 23 visit to Baghdad that these troops from Syria will leave Iraq at the request of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.