{"id":37453,"date":"2018-03-27T20:19:28","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T20:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/27\/us-coalition-want-to-shrink-role-in-iraq-but-isis-fighters-linger-in-the-desert\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:49:10","slug":"us-coalition-want-to-shrink-role-in-iraq-but-isis-fighters-linger-in-the-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/27\/us-coalition-want-to-shrink-role-in-iraq-but-isis-fighters-linger-in-the-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"US, coalition want to shrink role in Iraq, but ISIS fighters linger in the desert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coalition in Iraq is working to transition the U.S. Air Force into a less-kinetic role, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/12\/27\/us-wont-strike-remaining-isis-fighters-migrating-to-western-syria\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Islamic State<\/a> holdouts across the still-fragile country demand attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Actually, I think the situation has gotten a lot better since October,&#8221; said Air Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Croft, deputy commander for Air, Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/01\/23\/us-airstrikes-decimate-nearly-150-isis-militants\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Operation Inherent Resolve<\/a>.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are still remnants of ISIS in that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/20\/iraq-operations-in-kirkuk-not-part-of-larger-advance-ambassador-says\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Kirkuk<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2016\/03\/21\/u-s-marines-report-second-attack-on-firebase-bell-in-northern-iraq\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Makhmour<\/a> area,\u201d he said at a Pentagon press briefing Tuesday. \u201cThat&#8217;s where we&#8217;ve done the last few operations with Iraqi security forces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Croft described a diagonal line where ISIS fragments still remain, stretching across the northern handle of Iraq and intersecting Kirkuk \u2014 where Iraqi security forces controversially crushed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/17\/after-kirkuk-kurdish-forces-pull-out-of-more-areas-in-iraq\/\" title=\"\" class=\"selected-link\" target=\"_blank\">Kurdish separatists in October<\/a> 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/08\/nine-abrams-tanks-fell-into-the-hands-of-iranian-backed-militias-during-anti-isis-fight\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"154\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/dfn-us-iraq-abrams-ammojpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Nine Abrams tanks fell into the hands of Iranian-backed militias during anti-ISIS fight<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S.-issued military equipment, to include as many as nine M1A1 Abrams tanks, fell into the hands of Iranian-backed militias during the turbulent period that swept Iraq as it battled the Islamic State, the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We find fragments of ISIS and we work with Iraqi security forces to go after those fragments \u2014 we&#8217;ve done that in the last month or two,\u201d Croft said.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1347\" height=\"783\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635797241050630567-tns-isis-flag-04jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635797241050630567-tns-isis-flag-04jpg.jpg 1347w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635797241050630567-tns-isis-flag-04jpg.jpg?resize=300,174 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635797241050630567-tns-isis-flag-04jpg.jpg?resize=768,446 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635797241050630567-tns-isis-flag-04jpg.jpg?resize=1024,595 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1347px) 100vw, 1347px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An image made available on the jihadist website Welayat Salahuddin on June 11, 2014 shows militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) posing with the trademark Jihadists flag after they allegedly seized an Iraqi army checkpoint in the northern Iraqi province of Salahuddin. Jihadists are pushing toward Baghdad on June 12, 2014 after capturing a town just hours to the north, as the US mulled air strikes in a bid to bolster Iraq&#8217;s collapsing security forces. AFP PHOTO \/ HO \/ WELAYAT SALAHUDDIN\n=== RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE &#8211; MANDATORY CREDIT &#8220;AFP PHOTO \/ HO \/ WELAYAT SALAHUDDIN&#8221; &#8211; NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS &#8211; DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, THEREFORE AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATION ===-\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Routing remaining ISIS fighters is a key part of an effort to shift the overall coalition mission in Iraq. For the air component, that push is towards a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/05\/us-coalition-form-new-advisory-team-to-better-train-assist-iraqi-air-force\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Coalition Aviation Advisory and Training Team<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;That is going to be the future Air Force wing,\u201d Croft said. \u201cIt&#8217;s about 350 U.S. members, and then we&#8217;re going to use about 100 to 120 coalition members to man that wing.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This new team will push along the development of an Iraqi air force, with Iraqi forward air controllers and pilots capable of guarding the country from ISIS.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Instead of bringing [new] people in, we repurpose current airmen who are doing jobs in support of combat operations,\u201d Croft said of coalition forces currently in Iraq. \u201cAnd as those combat operations drop off, we repurpose those airmen into that training environment, or if they&#8217;re no longer required, we take them out of Iraq and send them home.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4099\" height=\"2609\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635545927651530143-hamajpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635545927651530143-hamajpg.jpg 4099w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635545927651530143-hamajpg.jpg?resize=300,191 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635545927651530143-hamajpg.jpg?resize=768,489 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635545927651530143-hamajpg.jpg?resize=1024,652 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635545927651530143-hamajpg.jpg?resize=1536,978 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635545927651530143-hamajpg.jpg?resize=2048,1304 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4099px) 100vw, 4099px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Iraqi Air Force Capt. Hama, student pilot, conducts preflight inspections while inside a new to service Iraqi F-16 Fighting Falcon located at the nearby Tucson International Airport, Dec. 17, 2014. Hama was part of the first class of Iraqi students training with the 162nd Wing to further enhance interoperability between the two partner nations. (U.S. Air Force photo\/Senior Airman Jordan Castelan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another area of concern for ISIS resurgence is in the Anbar region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs far as the numbers we find in the Anbar desert, they are [small],\u201d Croft said. \u201cThey\u2019re not coming from Syria that we\u2019re seeing, although that would be a concern in the future and we\u2019re fully aware of that possibility. But the numbers that are out there, it is small numbers, and we think they are just existing or trying to survive out there in the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some have feared that ISIS fighters in Anbar could be bolstered by their allies in nearby Syria, where U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have begun to depart the fight in order to help their Kurdish allies fight against Turkey in Afrin, Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/22\/us-forces-remain-in-manbij-despite-threats-from-turkey\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Turkish actions in northern Syria<\/a> &#8230; have distracted the SDF from the fight going against the remnants of ISIS,\u201d Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/03\/09\/us-airstrikes-drop-by-half-after-kurds-depart-anti-isis-fight\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tabqa-sdf-ypg.jpg_6b145f.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US airstrikes in Syria drop by half as Kurds depart anti-ISIS fight<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">As Kurdish fighters have departed the frontlines in the battle against the Islamic State, American airstrikes in eastern Syria have decreased sharply.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis described a stretch of the Middle Euphrates River Valley in Syria that feeds into the Iraqi border, \u201cwhere the remnants of ISIS still exist,\u201d he said.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTo be more precise, you go over to Deir Ezzor, and go down that river valley toward Al Qaim on the Iraq border. That is the area,\u201d Mattis added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In practical terms, Mattis said this distraction means \u201cwe are no longer on an offensive effort on the ground against them [ISIS], as this [Turkish operation] has drawn off the attention.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The coalition in Iraq is working to transition the U.S. Air Force into a less-kinetic role, but Islamic State holdouts across a still-fragile Iraq require attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":73571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-military","news"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"4":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-air-force","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"6":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-marine-corps","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"7":{"categories":["flashpoints","your-navy","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"}}},"categories":[100,8,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3385],"class_list":["post-37453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WLLIG7ET6VEHLO34XZOSDY5GRA","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/27\/us-coalition-want-to-shrink-role-in-iraq-but-isis-fighters-linger-in-the-desert\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US, coalition want to shrink role in Iraq, but ISIS fighters linger in the desert - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The coalition in Iraq is working to transition the U.S. Air Force into a less-kinetic role, but Islamic State holdouts across a still-fragile Iraq require attention.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US, coalition want to shrink role in Iraq, but ISIS fighters linger in the desert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The coalition in Iraq is working to transition the U.S. Air Force into a less-kinetic role, but Islamic State holdouts across a still-fragile Iraq require attention.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/27\/us-coalition-want-to-shrink-role-in-iraq-but-isis-fighters-linger-in-the-desert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-27T20:19:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T02:49:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kyle Rempfer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kyle Rempfer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        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