Operation Inherent Resolve
New 'Coalition of
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By early February 2018 the US-led coalition and the Iraqi government reached an agreement to draw down troops in Iraq for the first time since the war against Daesh was launched over three years ago. Dozens of American soldiers have been transported from Iraq to Afghanistan on daily flights over the past week, along with weapons and equipment. "Continued coalition presence in Iraq will be conditions-based, proportional to the need and in coordination with the government of Iraq," coalition spokesman Army Colonel Ryan Dillon said.
One senior Iraqi official close to Prime Minister Haider al Abadi said 60 percent of all American troops currently in country will be withdrawn, according to the initial agreement reached with the United States. The plan would leave a force of about 4,000 US troops to continue training the Iraqi military. A Pentagon report released in November 2017 said there were 8,892 US troops in Iraq as of late September 2017.
The U.S. on 30 April 2018 shut its Iraqi military headquarters controlling American ground operations against Islamic State, signifying the end of major combat operations against the insurgents. Islamic State once controlled a third of Iraq and its second biggest city, Mosul. But Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last December declared that Iraqi forces, with the assistance of 5,000 U.S. troops in a support role, had defeated it. The U.S. deactivated its Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command, "acknowledging the changing composition and responsibilities" of the coalition's fight against random Islamic State attacks. The U.S., however, will continue to station troops in Iraq, although neither Washington nor Baghdad would say how many. They will continue to advise and equip missions in support of the Iraqi Security Force.
The Coalition conducted a total of 31,406 strikes between August 2014 and end of November 2018. During this period, based on information available, CJTF-OIR assessed at least 1139 civilians had been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve. In the month of November, CJTF-OIR carried over 194 open reports from previous months and received 15 new reports. The assessment of 25 civilian casualty allegation reports has been completed. Out of the 25 completed casualty allegation reports, three reports were determined to be credible and resulted in 15 unintentional civilian deaths. Two of the reports were determined to be duplicate reports that had previously reported and the remaining 20 reports were assessed to be non-credible.
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