U.S. President Joe Biden on July 26 said the United States will end its combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year. Biden said it would be a "new phase" for the 2,500 troops still deployed in the country. "Our role in Iraq will be ... to be available, to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS as it arises but we're not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat zone," Biden told reporters. The anonymous official said that Iraqi forces were "battle tested" and "capable" of defending their own country. "There is no need for any foreign combat forces on Iraqi soil," he told the Associated Press.

Source: The Hindu July 26, 2021 19:41 UTC