BAGHDAD—The U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State closed down the headquarters for its ground forces in Baghdad on Monday, signaling the end of major combat operations in Iraq ahead of next month’s election. Iraq claimed victory over Islamic State in December after more than three years of war, but militants remain active in some parts of the country and have resorted to insurgent attacks elsewhere—exposing a persistent weakness of the local security forces. “We look forward to taking the partnership forward with the Combined Joint Task Force, and a friendship that will endure for years to come.”

With the deactivation of CJFLCC, its train, advise, assist and equip missions in support of Iraqi forces are now consolidated under a single headquarters, reflecting the coalition’s commitment to eliminate unnecessary command structures as the nature of its support to Iraq evolves from supporting and enabling combat operations to the training and development of self-sufficient Iraqi security-related capabilities. “The Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command Headquarters was deactivated today at a ceremony in Baghdad, signifying the end of major combat operations against ISIS(Islamic State) in Iraq and acknowledging the changing composition and responsibilities of the coalition.”

Brett Mc Gurk, the U.S. envoy to the coalition, tweeted: “From Falluja to Tikrit, Baiji, Ramadi, Sinjar, Mosul and points in between, our coalition has been proud to stand beside Iraqi forces and (Kurdish) Peshmerga as they liberated their country and 4.5 million fellow citizens from ISIS.”

NATO nations agreed in February to a bigger “train-and-advise” mission in Iraq as part of a broader international effort to help rebuild the country from more than a decade of war as combat operations wind down. Read more: War-torn Iraq seeks help from abroad to rebuild

The US and its partners are hoping to avoid repeating the mistakes of its 2011 withdrawal from Iraq.
The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq declares an end to major combat operations against ISIL in Iraq and closes the Coalition Forces Land Component Command headquarters. The U.S.-led coalition says in a statement that it would transition "from supporting and enabling combat operations to the training and development of self-sufficient Iraqi security-related capabilities".