ALBAWABA - In an exclusive report by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, the Iraqi Foreign Minister will be traveling to Washington next month to make a formal announcement about the withdrawal of American military forces from the country.
According to Tasnim's sources in Iraq, the Iraqi foreign minister and the US secretary of state will hold a press conference during the Iraqi diplomat's upcoming visit to the US to read a statement marking the end of the US-led international military coalition's mission in Iraq.
US withdrawal from Iraq
The Iraqi parliament approved an accord in November 2008 establishing a timeframe for the full withdrawal of US soldiers. According to the terms of the agreement, U.S. forces were supposed to depart the cities and towns by mid-2009, with full withdrawal from the country expected in early 2012.
In February 2009, then-newly elected US President Barack Obama declared that US combat forces would be removed from Iraq by the end of August 2010, with the remaining soldiers scheduled to leave by December 2011.
On June 30, 2009, after handing over security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, US soldiers completed their planned departure from the country's cities and villages.
The United States announced in October 2011 that the last of its 39,000 troops would depart Iraq by the end of 2011. On December 15, the US military carried out a ceremony in Baghdad to formally complete its mission in Iraq, and the last US soldiers left before the end of the year.
