The United States has completed the withdrawal of its remaining troops from Iraq under the international mission against ISIL, bringing an end to a military presence that stretched across more than two decades of conflict and intervention.
The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday that the remaining U.S. and coalition personnel, along with military equipment, had completed what Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell described as an “orderly departure” from Erbil Airbase in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
The move completes a years-long withdrawal process and transfers primary responsibility for the country’s security challenges to Iraqi forces.
Iraq’s government has welcomed the departure as an important step toward asserting greater national sovereignty and moving its relationship with Washington away from a wartime footing.
More than two decades of U.S. military involvement
U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq in 2003, with the American military presence eventually reaching approximately 170,000 personnel in 2007.
Washington withdrew its forces in 2011 but redeployed troops several years later as ISIL seized large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
Following ISIL’s territorial defeat in Iraq in 2017, the international military presence gradually shifted toward training and advisory operations.
The remaining foreign forces were consolidated in Erbil at the end of 2025 as preparations continued for the final withdrawal.
According to U.S. Central Command, approximately 1,500 American and other coalition personnel had been stationed at the Erbil base before the departure.
Parnell described the withdrawal as the culmination of a 12-year campaign that dismantled ISIL as an organized military threat in Iraq and the wider region.
He said the departure marks a transition from a wartime coalition operation toward an Iraqi-led security strategy supported by a more conventional bilateral relationship with Washington.
Iraqi forces assume greater responsibility
The withdrawal plan was finalized in 2024 under former U.S. President Joe Biden and the Iraqi government.
U.S. President Donald Trump had previously called for a complete American withdrawal from Iraq during his first administration as part of his pledge to end prolonged U.S. military engagements overseas.
With the latest departure, Washington says responsibility for confronting remaining ISIL cells and other security threats now rests primarily with the Iraqi government.
The Pentagon expects the Iraqi Security Forces, Kurdish Peshmerga and other forces in the Kurdistan region to lead efforts to prevent an ISIL resurgence.
Washington, however, is not ending all security cooperation with Baghdad. U.S. authorities say targeted training and intelligence assistance will continue.
The U.S. military task force responsible for overseeing operations against ISIL has been relocated to Jordan, while hundreds of American troops remain stationed in Syria.
Iraq enters new security phase
The departure places Iraq in a new phase as its government assumes greater responsibility for domestic security while facing instability elsewhere in the region.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has characterized the withdrawal as the beginning of a new era, with Baghdad seeking to build a more traditional economic and security partnership with Washington while attracting greater international investment.
His government is also pursuing an effort to disarm powerful armed groups, including militias closely aligned with Iran, by June 2027.
Some of those organizations have historically cited the presence of American forces as justification for maintaining independent weapons and command structures.
Concerns about the withdrawal remain particularly pronounced among Kurdish officials, who have warned that the Kurdistan region could become more vulnerable to Iranian attacks or a resurgence of ISIL.
Iraqi security officials, however, maintain that domestic forces are capable of addressing the country’s security threats without a permanent U.S. military presence.
Although ISIL no longer controls significant territory in Iraq, cells affiliated with the group continue to operate in parts of Iraq and Syria.
The completion of the withdrawal therefore marks the end of the current U.S.-led military mission in Iraq, while leaving Baghdad responsible for containing those remaining threats and navigating the country’s next phase of regional security.
