Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s government expects efforts to bring armed factions’ weapons under state control to accelerate after the remaining US-led Coalition mission in Iraq ends on Sept. 30, as Coalition forces accelerate their withdrawal, Maj. Gen. Sabah Al-Numan, spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, said on Thursday.

“After the Coalition mission ends, this issue will move faster because all justifications for weapons outside state control after Sept. 30 will have disappeared,” Al-Numan told Shafaq News.

He said the government continues high-level talks with armed factions, describing state control of weapons as an “Iraqi sovereign issue,” and added that security forces remain ready to protect the country as the Coalition mission winds down.

Al-Numan said Baghdad expects the process of bringing weapons under state authority to move quickly, though talks with the factions have yet to produce a final mechanism.

At the government’s weekly security briefing on Thursday, Al-Numan said Coalition forces were accelerating their withdrawal and that authorities were issuing permits and clearances to facilitate their departure.

The weapons issue remains unresolved ahead of the deadline. Government officials have said six armed factions are engaged in talks, while proposals under discussion have included placing decisions over the use of faction weapons under state authority, as well as regulating or freezing their arsenals. No final arrangement has been announced.

Some armed factions have tied the future of their weapons to what they describe as the restoration of full Iraqi sovereignty after the Coalition withdrawal. Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada spokesman Kazem Al-Fartousi told Shafaq News this week that the group viewed the two issues as inseparable.

Read more: Tension meets dialogue as Iraq approaches September 30

The State Administration Coalition has set Sept. 30 as the deadline for ending armed activity outside state institutions and warned that violations after that date could be pursued under Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law.

Baghdad and Washington agreed in 2024 on a two-phase transition from the Coalition framework toward longer-term bilateral security cooperation. The first phase ended in September 2025, with Coalition forces leaving Baghdad and Ain Al-Asad air base, while a contingent remained in the Kurdistan Region to support operations against ISIS in Syria. The remaining Coalition mission is due to end by Sept. 30, 2026.