Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced Wednesday the official ending of the global coalition against the Islamic State’s (ISIS) combat mission in the country, adding that their new role is to advise and assist local security forces.
“The Coalition have fully completed their combat role after transfer of personnel and material outside Iraq. Going forward, their role will be to advise and assist our security forces per the outcome of the Strategic Dialogue,” Kadhimi said in a tweet , referring to a string of meetings between Iraqi and US in the last two years.
“We thank the leadership of the Coalition, it’s members, our partners and neighbors in combating Daish and reaffirm that our security forces stand ready to defend our people,” he added.
The Coalition was formally established in October 2014, after ISIS took control of vast swathes of territories in Iraq and Syria. Consisting of 84 nations, the US-led Coalition’s mission has been “degrading and ensuring Daesh’s enduring defeat,” it says on its website, using Arabic acronym for the extremist group.