US Military Leaves Iraq After More Than 2 Decades

The U.S. military completed its withdrawal of the remaining troops and equipment from Erbil Air Base in Iraq over 20 years after the United States first launched the Iraq War, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Sept. 30.

Described by CENTCOM as an “orderly departure” from the air base, the withdrawal marks the end of the U.S. military’s Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. The campaign supported a coalition of forces that had fought to defeat ISIS in the country since 2014.

The initial U.S. military presence, dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom, started with an invasion in 2003 that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and lasted until 2011. However, U.S. forces were sent back to Iraq in 2014 in support of a coalition countering ISIS terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

With the U.S. military exiting and the Iraqi government now responsible for its own security, some Iraqi officials have expressed concerns regarding the continued security of Iraq and the surrounding region.

Wednesday’s deadline for the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq came as part of a planned transition agreed to in 2024. The United States began withdrawing troops last October but kept hundreds of troops in the semiautonomous northern Kurdish region.

“This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Sept. 30. “It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.”

While Parnell said the United States would continue to support Iraq through targeted training and intelligence, he noted that the primary responsibility for addressing security challenges such as ISIS and Iran-aligned militias rested with the Iraqi government.

“Job well done to the tens of thousands of American service members, diplomats, and civilian personnel who answered the call in Iraq,” Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement.

“Because of your grit, sacrifice, and professionalism, ISIS no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq’s national security, and Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, now possess the capacity, leadership, and operational independence to unilaterally manage threats to their homeland.”

Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, which previously used Erbil Air Base as its operational hub and hosted a majority of the 1,500 American and coalition forces involved in the operation against ISIS, is now headquartered in Jordan, according to CENTCOM. U.S. forces are continuing to execute the mission in Syria in collaboration with the Syrian government and other coalition partners.

Cooper said that while Iraq will now be responsible for its own security, the United States and coalition forces in the Middle East will “remain ready to respond to any ISIS threats that arise.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said the U.S. military withdrawal marked the beginning of a “new phase” for Iraq defined by Iraqi sovereignty, strong institutions, military readiness, unity, and “balanced partnerships.”

The Sept. 30 deadline for the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq was initially linked to a deadline for non-state armed groups in Iraq to disarm. Despite some groups agreeing to the Iraqi government’s demands, some of the more powerful groups aligned with Iran rejected the disarmament proposal.

Al-Zaidi told The New York Times this month that a new deadline for disarmament had been set for June 2027.

Iraq’s Kurdish regional government’s Peshmerga Ministry said in a statement on Sept. 28 that the U.S. withdrawal came at a sensitive time, with instability threatening the security of both Iraq and the surrounding region.

Kurdish officials said their region has been hit by over 1,000 drones and ballistic missiles since the start of the war between the United States and Iran in February. The Peshmerga Ministry warned that it was “deeply concerning” that an alternative air defense system had not been established in light of the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Meanwhile, Iran-allied groups in Iraq have celebrated the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

“The expulsion of the occupation forces, defeated, from the land of Iraq is the beginning of full sovereignty,” Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official with the Kataib Hezbollah terrorist group, said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.