ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US Embassy in Iraq on Friday denied reports of US forces evacuating Baghdad, describing the rumors as “not accurate” in a statement, while reiterating their commitment to a September deal, outlining a timeline toward ending the US-led global mission in Iraq.

“Reports suggesting U.S. forces will vacate Baghdad completely starting tomorrow are not accurate,” a US embassy spokesperson told The New Region in a statement, adding that the Global Coalition “is currently proceeding with the agreed-upon transition timeline for coalition forces to end military operations in Iraq,” as per the September 2024 agreement.

“As outlined in the Joint Statement, this is the natural evolution of the Coalition’s military mission in Iraq to a more traditional bilateral security relationship,” the statement added.

Iraq and the US in September 2024 announced they had reached an agreement to wrap up the US-led coalition’s military presence in the country by “no later than the end of September 2025” and transition to bilateral security partnerships “in a manner that supports Iraqi forces and maintains pressure on ISIS.”

The US has approximately 2,400 military personnel deployed in Iraq. US forces were deployed to Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government in 2014 to fight the Islamic State (ISIS), which had then overrun large swathes of Iraqi territory in the north and west of the country.