US Completes Troop Withdrawal from Iraq, Ending 12-Year Anti-ISIS Campaign

The United States military has completed the full withdrawal of its forces from Iraq, bringing a formal end to a 12-year campaign against the Islamic State group and handing over complete security responsibility to Iraqi forces.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that American troops and equipment completed an orderly departure from the air base in Irbil, located in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. 

Parnell noted that the milestone marks the successful end of the coalition's campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat and transitions the relationship into a standard bilateral security partnership.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi presided over the formal handover ceremony, characterizing the departure as the beginning of a new phase defined by Iraqi sovereignty, unified decision-making, and strong national institutions.

The withdrawal concludes a military presence that began with the 2003 invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein. 

Although US forces initially withdrew in 2011, Iraqi authorities requested their return in 2014 to combat the rapid rise of ISIS, which had seized vast territories across the country. 

Following the reduction of the extremist group to scattered sleeper cells, Washington and Baghdad reached a agreement in 2024 to systematically wind down the coalition mission.

While the US had vacated bases across most of Iraq over the past year, a contingent of several hundred troops remained in the northern Kurdish region until the final exit. 

The departure comes amid heightened regional tensions following the outbreak of conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran on February 28, during which American bases in northern Iraq faced repeated targeted attacks.

The reaction within Iraq remains deeply divided. Officials in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region expressed significant concern over the departure, particularly regarding the removal of American air defense systems. 

The Kurdish Regional Government’s Peshmerga Ministry highlighted that the region has sustained over 1,000 drone and ballistic missile strikes during recent regional clashes, warning that departing without leaving defense systems leaves the region vulnerable.

Conversely, Iran-aligned armed groups in Baghdad celebrated the departure. 

Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official for the Kataib Hezbollah militia, hailed the exit as the beginning of full Iraqi sovereignty while issuing a stark warning to the central government against pursuing American interests.

The withdrawal also highlights ongoing internal security challenges for Baghdad. 

The Iraqi government had originally paired the US exit timeline with a deadline to disarm non-state armed groups. 

While several minor militias agreed to turn over their weapons, major Iran-backed factions resisted, prompting Prime Minister al-Zaidi to extend the militia disarmament deadline to June 2027.