(AP) -- Government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi says "the battle against Daesh (Isis) has ended and so the level of the American presence will be reduced." 

Al-Hadithi stressed the drawdown is still in its early stages and at present does not mark the beginning of a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces.

The United States first launched airstrikes against Isis in Iraq in August 2014.

(FILE Photo: - In this April 17, 2017 file photo, U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division fire artillery in support of Iraqi forces fighting Isis militants from their base east of Mosul. Western contractors at a U.S.-led coalition base in Iraq say American troops have started to drawdown from the country following the defeat of the Isis group. They say U.S. soldiers, weapons and equipment are being transported out of Iraq to Afghanistan. The contractors say dozens of American soldiers have left on daily flights over the past week. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)