U.S. in Iraq helps ensure enduring defeat of ISIS

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U.S. forces in Iraq are fighting shoulder to shoulder with Iraqi troops to secure democratic values and preserve a shared victory over ISIS.

The U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS’s destruction of the ISIS caliphate last March has allowed some 4.5 million Iraqi civilians to return home since April 2015 and liberated more than 110,000 square kilometers of territory. The United States is committed to continued collaboration with Iraqi troops to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS.

“They are hosting us. We are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters January 2. “We are there to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS, which we continue to work closely with the Iraqis on by training, advising and assisting them.”

The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS has continued to grow and now stands at 81 members (76 nations and 5 international organizations).

Graphic with data on defeat of ISIS (State Dept./D. Thompson)
(State Dept./D. Thompson)

U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo has hailed the successes of the coalition, including the death of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019.

The U.S. remains committed to ensuring ISIS’s enduring defeat and building a more stable and peaceful Iraq. The U.S. has provided more than $2 billion in food, water, medicine, and shelter since 2014, and helped rebuild more than 500 schools and 100 health centers.

The U.S. also stands with the Iraqi people who have been demonstrating against the Iranian regime’s influence in their political affairs while Iranian-backed militias have gunned down peaceful protesters.

Pompeo has said Iraq and the United States are closer to ensuring a prosperous and safer world thanks to President Trump’s decisive action against one of the world’s and Iran’s most dangerous terrorists, Qassem Soleimani.

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