As the last US troops pack up in Iraq, militias signal their weapons will stay

BAGHDAD -- Two deadlines are looming for Iraq at the end of the month: the end of a decades-long U.S. military presence and the disarmament of non-state armed groups.The U.S. withdrawal is underway, and officials say the hundreds of troops remaining in northern Iraq will be out by the Sept. 30 deadline.The Iraqi government has linked the U.S. withdrawal to an ultimatum for militias to lay down their weapons. But most have indicated they have no plans to do so.That leaves major questions about what the day after will look like in Iraq.Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have struck U.S.-linked targets both inside and outside of Iraq since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. They also have coordinated with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia.With the war between the U.S. and Iran raging, Tehran is unlikely to give up the leverage it has in neighboring Iraq. U.S. officials are concerned about the militias' ability to continue carrying out attacks — but not enough to delay their withdrawal.U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. They departed in 2011, but three years later, Iraqi authorities invited a smaller U.S.-led mission to fight the Islamic State g...