US forces to remain in Iraq ‘for necessity’

ABU DHABI

The U.S. forces will remain in Iraq as long as necessary, the U.S.-led coalition said on Sunday.

“We’ll keep troops there as long as we think they’re needed,” Army Colonel Sean Ryan, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition against Daesh, told a press conference held in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"The main reason, after ISIS (Daesh) is defeated militarily, is the stabilization efforts and we still need to be there for that, so that’s one of the reasons we’ll maintain a presence," he added.

Daesh’s presence has recently been purged from Iraq -- by Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led military coalition -- after the terrorist group overran much of the territory in northern and western Iraq in 2014.

The U.S.-led coalition was formed in 2014 upon a call of former president Barack Obama to dispatch to the region to help the Iraqi government in fights against Daesh.