U.S. and Iraq agree to near-total troop withdrawal by 2026

The United States reached an agreement with Iraq to withdraw almost all of its troops by the end of 2026. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, negotiations between Washington D.C. and Baghdad reached a successful conclusion, so the official announcement would come in the next few days. The two countries had been in dialogue for months about the arrangement of the withdrawal in a joint military committee.

"There is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century," Kamala Harris said in her recent debate with Donald Trump on ABC News. However, it turns out that the U.S. currently has 2,500 troops in Iraq and about 900 in Syria, stationed there to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State.

In August, the U.S. confirmed having eliminated 15 Islamic State militants in an operation carried out in western Iraq. At the same time, the Pentagon noted that U.S. forces worked alongside Syrian forces to capture one of the group's leaders.

"ISIS remains a threat to the region, our allies and our homeland," the Central Command said.

The agreement is specifically to remove almost all troops, although the possibility still remains that a small contingent could remain in Iraq indefinitely.

According to a senior official told the WSJ, the agreement between Washington DC and Baghdad is "ready," although there are still some details to be worked out with other member countries of the coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003.

"It also allows U.S. forces to continue using Iraq to support American troops in Syria, though Iraqi forces might have to operate with less direct assistance from U.S. special operations forces and advisers. It is unclear whether the U.S. would provide Iraqi forces with air support," the WSJ added.