ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq is taking place at an “accelerated pace” in direct coordination with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, the premier’s spokesperson said Wednesday, with all foreign troops set to depart by September 30. 

“The process of the forces’ withdrawal is in direct coordination with the office of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, which directly supervises the mechanisms of transfer and departure,” Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Zaidi, told state media. 

His remarks just after Germany ended its military advisory mission in the Kurdistan Region as part of the US-led coalition, with the last German troops leaving Erbil on Wednesday.

“The German forces … represented an essential part of the international coalition, where their tasks focused on training Iraqi forces and Peshmerga forces, armament programs, in addition to the role in aerial reconnaissance operations,” Numan said. 

He explained that sites used by the coalition at Erbil International Airport will be handed over to the airport authority, while other military bases will be handed over to the Peshmerga. 

“The withdrawal is continuing at an accelerated pace,” Numan asserted. 

The anti-ISIS coalition, brought to Iraq in 2014 at the invitation of Baghdad to help repel a lightning ISIS advance across the country, is set to complete its withdrawal from all Iraqi territory by September 30, as per an agreement between Washington and Baghdad.

Its withdrawal has long been a key demand for many political forces and armed groups across the country, especially those with strong links to Iran.

Many pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq had long listed the coalition’s withdrawal as the primary prerequisite for laying down their arms, with the presence of American troops having drawn vast condemnation from Iran-aligned forces.

Many pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq had long listed the coalition’s withdrawal as the primary prerequisite for laying down their arms, with the presence of American troops having drawn vast condemnation from Iran-aligned forces.

The Iraqi government, led by Zaidi, is pushing to restrict weapons to the state and has also set September 30 as the deadline for armed groups to hand over all weapons.