By Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Pentagon recommitted itself in a statement on Tuesday to scaling back its military mission in Iraq, a process that a U.S. official said will see Baghdad command efforts to combat remnants of Islamic State inside its own country.

Under the plan, the U.S. and its coalition allies would instead focus on combating Islamic State remnants in Syria and shift most of their personnel to Iraq’s Kurdistan region to carry out that mission, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. had approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq at the start of 2025 and more than 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to combat Islamic State as it rampaged through the two countries.

Once the transitions are completed, the total number

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