All combat troops from the US-led coalition are said to have left Iraq. While this plainly wasn’t a full military pullout in anything but branding, Iraq military spokesman Yehia Rasool emphasized Iraq still has military needs.
Rasool warned that Iraq still needs to strengthen its air force, and that as a result they need the coalition to carry out airstrikes against ISIS targets, particularly near the Syrian border.
To that end, the coalition forces are staying at both Ayn al-Asad airbase and al-Harir. The US is also keeping “advisers” at those sites as part of their presence without “combat troops.”
It is noteworthy that Rasool is openly talking about ISIS as a problem, as in the past couple of years Iraq had been keen to spin them as totally defeated, since they no longer control any towns, and the fighting as effectively over.
Translation: airstrikes against the Kurds.