The last British and American troops have left Iraq as the international coalition's mission against the Islamic State group formally comes to an end. The withdrawal follows a deal agreed between the governments involved two years ago and fulfils a long-standing demand of Baghdad. It marks a symbolic close to more than a decade of coalition military presence in the country. The last remaining British and American troops have withdrawn from Iraq, bringing the international coalition's mission against the Islamic State group to a formal close. The departure ends more than a decade of coalition military presence that began during the campaign to defeat the group's territorial caliphate, an effort that drew in forces from several nations over the years.

The withdrawal follows a deal reached between the governments involved roughly two years earlier, and it fulfils a demand the Iraqi government had pressed for repeatedly. Baghdad had argued that a formal coalition presence was no longer necessary given improvements in the country's own security capacity. Officials on all sides described the departure as an orderly, planned conclusion to the mission rather than an abrupt exit. Iraq's government is now expected to take on full responsibility for domestic security, while coalition partners may reassess their wider military posture in the region, following years of close cooperation with Iraqi security forces. Read next Netanyahu Says Flydubai Co-Pilot Had Islamist Radical Indoctrination Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the co-pilot who attacked the cockpit of a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv showed clear Islamist radical indoctrination. The captain and a passenger subdued him with a chokehold, and the aircraft landed safely.

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