US troops in Iraq shift to Erbil to focus on ISIS in Syria
The US mission against the Islamic State is relocating its headquarters and most of its troops from Baghdad to Erbil as the prime minister's coalition faces reelection in November.
WASHINGTON — The US military’s task force to defeat the Islamic State group is handing over a large part of its mission to Baghdad’s security forces and shifting focus to neighboring Syria ahead of contentious nationwide elections in Iraq.
The ongoing shift will see the bulk of the remaining American military personnel consolidate at Erbil, in the country’s northern Kurdistan region, a senior US defense official confirmed on Tuesday.
Once the pivot is complete, there will be fewer than 2,000 US military personnel in Iraq – down from more than 5,000 after ISIS' last major territorial stronghold was captured in 2019.
The headquarters of the US-led multinational mission, known officially as Operation Inherent Resolve, will also relocate to Erbil Air Base in order to allow top commanders to focus on the fragile security situation in neighboring Syria following the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime by Islamist rebels late last year.
