The US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS) has announced that a small number of its forces are likely to leave Iraq following a decision to shut down its ground forces command headquarters. The coalition announced the closure of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command (CJFLCC) earlier last week marking the end of major combat operations in Iraq.
The change would consolidate the coalition’s missions to advise and assist the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) under a single headquarter. The coalition has announced a shift in its mandate from active combat to helping ISF evolves from supporting and enabling combat operations to the training and development of self-sufficient Iraqi security-related capabilities.
The coalition declared it was shifting its focus in Iraq away from supporting Iraqi combat operations to sustaining military gains against IS in the country. The coalition has accomplished the first phase of the war against ISIS which now dictates a change in focus that involves the helping ISF in maintaining the gains and preventing the resurgence of ISIS in Iraq.
