US ends troop mission in Iraq, Baghdad to celebrate Sovereignty Day on October 1

AI Summary

The US-led coalition has ended its troop mission in Iraq, more than a decade after deploying to fight Islamic State. Iraqi leaders welcomed the move, while some fear that the withdrawal could embolden pro-Iranian armed factions; Baghdad plans to mark Sovereignty Day on October 1.

A US-led coalition deployed in Iraq more than a decade ago to fight jihadists concluded its mission on Wednesday, a move celebrated by the country’s leaders, but which some fear will embolden pro-Iran armed factions. Coalition troops deployed to Iraq and Syria in 2014 to fight Islamic State, which had seized large swathes of territory, committing massacres and forcing thousands of women and children into slavery. The group was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, but coalition forces...