After battling militants, U.S. begins reducing forces

AL-ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq — American troops have started to draw down from Iraq following Baghdad’s declaration of victory over the Islamic State group last year, according to Western contractors at a U.S.led coalition base in Iraq.

In Baghdad, an Iraqi government spokesman on Monday confirmed that the reduction has begun, though he stressed it was still in its early stages and doesn’t mark the beginning of a complete pullout of U.S. forces.

Dozens of American soldiers have been transported from Iraq to Afghanistan on flights over the past week, along with weapons and equipment, the contractors said.

An AP reporter at the AlAsad base in western Iraq saw troop movements reflecting the contractors’ account. The contractors spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Continued coalition presence in Iraq will be conditionsbased, proportional to the need and in coordination with the government of Iraq,” said coalition spokesman Army Col. Ryan Dillon.

Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said “the battle against Daesh has ended, and so the level of the American presence will be reduced.” Daesh is the Arabic language acronym for Islamic State.

Al-Hadithi spoke just hours after the Associated Press reported the American drawdown — the first since the war against Islamic State was launched over three years ago.

One senior Iraqi official close to Prime Minister Haider alAbadi said 60 percent of all American troops currently in country will be withdrawn, according to the initial agreement reached with the United States. The plan would leave a force of about 4,000 U.S. troops to continue training the Iraqi military. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

A Pentagon report released in November said there were 8,892 U.S. troops in Iraq as of late September.

The U.S. first launched air strikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq in August 2014. At the time the military intervention was described as “limited,” but as Iraq’s military struggled to roll back the extremists, the U.S.-led coalition’s footprint in the country steadily grew.

The drawdown of U.S. forces comes just three months ahead of national elections in Iraq, where the indefinite presence of American troops continues to be a divisive issue.