U.S. military declares end of anti-ISIS Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq

The U.S. military declared an end to its Iraq-based anti-ISIS operation Wednesday, saying all U.S.-led coalition forces and equipment had been withdrawn from a key base in the north of the country in line with an agreement reached previously with the Iraqi government."The orderly departure of Coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base marks the successful conclusion of the military mission that defeated ISIS in Iraq," Department of Defense spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. "This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region. It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship."The U.S. military launched Operation Inherent Resolve in 2014 to confront ISIS, the terrorist group that grew out of the remnants of al-Qaeda in Iraq and seized vast portions of Iraq and neighboring Syria in the years immediately preceding the U.S.-led operation. Erbil International Airport is seen in Erbil, northern Iraq, as U.S. forces prepared to complete their withdrawal from the country by Sept. 30, 202...