'The US military is pulling its forces from a base in Iraq and shifting them to Afghanistan following the defeat of Daesh militants in the Arab country, the Associated Press reported on Monday.
The news agency quoted Western contractors at the base as saying that US troops began the drawdown over the past week, with groups of soldiers leaving the base on daily flights.
According to the report, the exact scale of the redeployment was unclear.
The BBC said more than 5,000 US troops were stationed in Iraq as of 2016, with nearly 4,000 others deployed later to purportedly assist local groups fighting Daesh. The remaining troops included special operations forces, logistics workers and soldiers on temporary rotations, the broadcaster said.
Iraqi officials said their government reached an agreement with the US to reduce the number of troops in Iraq, Fox News reported.
The news came amid reports of a tiff between Baghdad and Washington over the United States' suspension of a maintenance program for Abrams tanks in Iraq.'
Read more: US redeploying troops to Afghanistan from Iraq: Report
