Al-Khafaji: No international coalition soldiers are present in the Kurdistan Region or Baghdad

According to Kurdistan Press, Tahseen Al-Khafaji, director of the media unit of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, said: Yesterday, the last coalition soldier left Iraq, and thus, Iraq was freed from the presence of the international coalition.

Stating that Iraq has begun a new stage and period in the field of training, armaments and development, he pointed out that Baghdad's relations with the United States are strong and developing and are being renewed in accordance with its conditions and schedules.

The deputy head of the Iraqi Security Information Unit said that the country is on the path of developing relations with all neighboring countries and extensive cooperation is underway in all fields.Regarding weapons, Al-Khafaji also referred to the emphasis of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Ali Al-Zaidi, on the need to accelerate the process of equipping the air defense forces, and said that the expected period for this goal has been reduced from 6 years to 3 years.

Referring to the existence of priorities in the field of weapons, he explained: The choice of weapons must meet the needs of our country; these weapons must be able to protect the vital objectives of the country, defend our interests, and ensure the security and protection of our airspace.

Regarding relations with the Kurdistan Region, Al-Khafaji also emphasized that the region is part of the Iraqi security system and that the Peshmerga forces operate within the framework of this system, and that there are developing relations, coordination, and joint cooperation between the two sides.He added that cooperation with the Kurdistan Region includes joint planning, exchange of intelligence and security information, as well as analysis of all security violations and challenges with a single mechanism and based on shared intelligence.

Regarding the ISIS threat, Al-Khafaji also said: "Now we are the ones who are pursuing the ISIS group and targeting their positions. They used to hide in these hideouts and we could not reach them."

Stressing that accessing and targeting elements of this group has now become very easy, he added that ISIS members are no longer a threat to the security forces.