Shafaq News – Baghdad

The Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee (IRCC) announced on Thursday that it has activated what it called a trigger mechanism in response to the repositioning of US forces in the country.

IRCC is a body for various Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups, particularly those that have been part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), including the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and has been involved in actions against US forces and Israel.

In its statement, the group accused Washington of shifting troops to areas it considers safer while reducing numbers in certain bases, even as it intensified aerial activity with drones and warplanes “in disregard for Iraq’s sovereignty and the will of its people.”

The committee vowed that its fighters “will keep their fingers on the trigger to defend Iraq, its people, and the PMF,” denouncing the United States and its regional allies for “persisting in targeting them.”

The IRCC also called on government institutions and parliament to assume their responsibilities through the relevant committees by monitoring the US presence and ensuring a genuine withdrawal that restores “Iraq’s full control over its land and skies.”

The declaration comes as the US Global Coalition begins the first stages of its planned drawdown. On Monday, a US military convoy departed the Ain al-Asad base in Al-Anbar province toward Syria.

Under the schedule, Coalition forces are to leave Ain al-Asad and Baghdad by the end of September 2025, with part of the contingent relocating to Erbil and Kuwait. The overall troop presence is set to shrink from about 2,000 to fewer than 500 soldiers stationed in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.