U.S. Completes Military Withdrawal From Iraq, Ending 12-Year Anti-ISIS Mission

WASHINGTON - The United States has completed the withdrawal of its remaining military forces from Iraq, formally ending the American-led Operation Inherent Resolve mission inside the country after 12 years of operations against ISIS.

U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday that American forces and equipment had completed what it called an orderly departure from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq.

The departure of the final forces from Erbil marks the end of the U.S. military mission inside Iraq under Operation Inherent Resolve.

It also closes the latest chapter of an American military presence that stretches back more than two decades to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the withdrawal concludes a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region.

The Pentagon characterized the change as a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more conventional bilateral defense relationship with Washington.

The withdrawal does not mean the United States is ending all security cooperation with Iraq.

The Pentagon said it will continue providing targeted training and intelligence support to Iraqi partners.

Operation Inherent Resolve also continues outside Iraq.

CENTCOM said Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve is now headquartered in Jordan and will continue counter-ISIS operations in Syria alongside coalition partners and the Syrian government.

Final forces leave Erbil

Erbil Air Base in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region became the final major hub for the U.S.-led counter-ISIS mission as American and coalition forces consolidated during the drawdown.

CENTCOM said personnel and equipment were removed from the installation by Sept. 30 in accordance with the previously negotiated transition plan between Washington and Baghdad.

The air base had served as an important headquarters and logistical center for coalition operations against ISIS in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria.

The final withdrawal completes a phased process that had been under negotiation for years.

The United States and Iraq formally announced the transition plan in September 2024.

Under that agreement, the coalition's military mission in federal Iraq was scheduled to conclude first, followed by the eventual removal of forces remaining in the Kurdistan region that continued supporting operations against ISIS in northeastern Syria.

The second phase was scheduled to continue through at least September 2026, subject to conditions on the ground and consultation between Washington and Baghdad.

Wednesday's departure from Erbil fulfills that final phase.

A 12-year campaign against ISIS

The United States established Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in 2014 after ISIS captured large areas of Iraq and Syria.

The extremist group seized Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, and controlled substantial territory across northern and western Iraq.

Its rapid advance exposed major weaknesses in Iraqi security forces and prompted Baghdad to request international military assistance.

U.S. forces returned to Iraq three years after completing an earlier withdrawal.

The American-led coalition conducted airstrikes, trained and advised Iraqi forces, provided intelligence and logistical support and assisted operations by both Iraqi government troops and Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Iraqi forces retook Mosul in 2017 after a lengthy battle.

ISIS subsequently lost the territorial caliphate it had controlled across Iraq and Syria.

The organization has continued operating through smaller insurgent cells, but CENTCOM says it no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq's national security.

CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said Iraqi forces now possess the capabilities, leadership and operational independence needed to manage remaining threats inside the country.

The United States and coalition partners stationed elsewhere in the region will remain prepared to respond if ISIS again develops into a larger threat, according to CENTCOM.

Second complete U.S. withdrawal from Iraq

Wednesday's departure marks the second time the United States has completed a military withdrawal from Iraq since the 2003 invasion.

U.S.-led forces invaded Iraq in March 2003 and removed Saddam Hussein's government.

American troop levels eventually reached approximately 170,000 during the height of the war in 2007.

The United States withdrew its remaining troops in December 2011 after nearly nine years of war.

That withdrawal was followed by a renewed security crisis as ISIS expanded from Syria into Iraq.

By 2014, the group had captured Mosul and large sections of western and northern Iraq.

The Iraqi government requested international assistance, and U.S. forces returned as part of the multinational campaign that became Operation Inherent Resolve.

For years, approximately 2,500 U.S. troops remained in Iraq as the mission shifted from direct combat toward advising, training and supporting Iraqi forces.

Those numbers were gradually reduced as the coalition transferred more responsibility to Baghdad.

Iraq assumes primary security responsibility

The Pentagon said Iraqi Security Forces, Kurdish Peshmerga units and other security organizations in the Kurdistan region will now lead efforts to suppress remaining ISIS cells.

Iraq's government described the withdrawal as a milestone for national sovereignty and the development of its own security institutions.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi said the country was entering a new phase in which Iraqi institutions would assume full responsibility for national security and stability.

The government is also attempting to address armed groups that operate outside formal state command.

Some of those militias have close political or military ties to Iran and have previously targeted American forces in Iraq.

Their future remains one of the major security questions following the U.S. withdrawal.

The Pentagon said responsibility for dealing with both remaining ISIS cells and Iran-aligned militias that undermine Iraqi sovereignty now primarily rests with the Iraqi government.

Concerns remain over ISIS and armed militias

The withdrawal has been welcomed by political factions and armed groups that have long demanded the removal of American forces.

Iran and allied organizations have also portrayed the departure as a strategic victory.

At the same time, some officials and residents in Iraq's Kurdish region have expressed concern that the loss of a permanent American military presence could create additional security risks.

The Kurdish region has faced missile and drone threats during periods of wider regional conflict.

ISIS also continues to maintain smaller cells capable of carrying out attacks despite no longer controlling significant territory.

The Pentagon's assessment is that Iraqi forces are now capable of managing that threat without a permanent U.S. deployment inside Iraq.

That assessment will be tested as Baghdad takes full responsibility for counterterrorism operations.

Operation Inherent Resolve continues in Syria

The end of the Iraq mission does not terminate Operation Inherent Resolve itself.

CENTCOM said the multinational task force remains active and is now headquartered in Jordan.

U.S. forces will continue participating in counter-ISIS operations in Syria with coalition partners and Syrian forces.

That distinction means Wednesday's announcement ends the mission and U.S. troop presence inside Iraq rather than ending the broader regional campaign against ISIS.

American forces elsewhere in the Middle East also remain positioned to respond to regional security threats.

The Pentagon said Washington remains committed to preventing ISIS from rebuilding enough strength to again use Iraqi territory as a base for large-scale operations.

Training and intelligence cooperation will continue

The emerging U.S.-Iraq security relationship will focus less on permanent American troop deployments and more on direct cooperation between the two governments.

The Defense Department said the United States will continue providing targeted training and intelligence assistance.

That support could allow Iraqi forces to benefit from American intelligence and expertise without maintaining a standing U.S. combat force inside the country.

Washington and Baghdad are also expected to continue broader diplomatic, commercial and security cooperation.

CENTCOM described the military departure as part of a planned transition to a bilateral defense relationship rather than an end to the broader U.S.-Iraq partnership.

More than two decades after the invasion

The withdrawal comes 23 years after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.

More than 4,500 American service members were killed during the years of war and military operations that followed the invasion, according to Reuters.

Iraq also suffered extensive civilian and military casualties during years of conflict, sectarian violence and the later war against ISIS.

The original American military presence ended in 2011 before the rise of ISIS forced Washington and Baghdad into another large-scale security partnership.

That second mission has now lasted 12 years.

Wednesday's withdrawal therefore represents both the end of Operation Inherent Resolve inside Iraq and the end of the second major era of permanent U.S. troop deployment there.

What happens next

Iraq's security forces now carry primary responsibility for preventing ISIS from rebuilding and for confronting armed groups operating outside government control.

U.S. training and intelligence assistance will continue, but American forces will no longer be permanently based inside Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

The coalition's regional counter-ISIS mission will continue from Jordan and through operations in Syria.

The Pentagon has not characterized the withdrawal as the end of the U.S.-Iraq defense relationship.

Instead, Washington says the relationship is moving from a wartime coalition structure toward a bilateral partnership in which Iraq is responsible for securing its own territory.

For the United States, the departure from Erbil marks the formal conclusion of a military mission launched in 2014 and closes a cycle that began with the 2003 invasion, an initial withdrawal in 2011 and the return of American forces three years later.