Kurdish official warns US: 'now is not the time' to pull forces out of Iraq'

As the U.S. mulls over a plan to withdraw troops from Iraq, its Kurdish allies have a message: Don’t forget us.

"This is not the time to reduce coalition forces in Iraq," Treefa Aziz, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s special representative to the U.S., told Fox News Digital.

"Extremist groups like ISIS and armed militias continue to pose a serious threat to the people of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region."

The U.S. announced plans to shrink the U.S. "footprint" in Iraq and end the current mission of coalition forces – including the Kurds – to fight ISIS, but declined to say how many of the 2,500 troops currently stationed there would remain.

"A decade ago, Kurdish Peshmerga forces worked alongside U.S. troops to defeat ISIS and continue to actively combat ISIS remnants to prevent a resurgence of terror today," Aziz said. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) "has been a reliable security partner for the United States and remains ready to enhance cooperation."

But now, if Baghdad is pushing the U.S. out of Iraq, the U.S. could feel it must honor that request or risk making another enemy in the Middle East. The KRG says it would be "willing and able" to host U.S. coalition forces in its territory.

The current mission is now set to end by September 2025, with a plan to keep the number of forces on the Iraqi side to back up the 900 U.S. troops in Syria until at least 2026.

News of a plan that could amount to a significant drawdown of U.S. forces called to mind 2019, when former President Donald Trump announced plans to pull out of Syria and the Kurds felt abandoned by a partner they had fought alongside for years – leaving them open to an attack by Turkish forces.

PENTAGON PLANS TO SHRINK US ‘FOOTPRINT’ IN IRAQ

Trump, at the