The American military presence in Iraq has officially drawn to a close, with the United States (U.S.) forces completing their withdrawal ahead of schedule, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fawad Hussein announced on Monday.
The pullout concludes a military involvement that first began with the 2003 invasion. Although American troops originally departed in 2011, they were redeployed in 2014 to combat the territorial expansion of the Islamic State group, focusing their mission on countering the militants and bolstering local forces. In 2024, Washington and Baghdad reached a formal agreement to wind down the U.S.-led coalition, paving the way for the total exit.
The completion of the pullout comes two days prior to the agreed 30 September deadline for terminating the U.S.-led international coalition’s military campaign. In August, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi confirmed 30 September as the “fixed and final date for ending the military mission of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq and completing the departure of its forces.”
Middle Eastern news outlet Safir reported that the exit takes place as Baghdad prepares to assume total security control across the nation, shifting future engagement with Washington towards bilateral security and defence cooperation. Former reports from The National earlier on Monday indicated that this new phase will transition into an advisory, training, and intelligence-sharing partnership.
A U.S. official previously acknowledged that coalition partners had secured substantial success in defeating ISIS, adding, “now the Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, will lead the fight against terrorists in Iraq.” Although American authorities anticipated finishing the drawdown by the end of September, details regarding remaining troop numbers and specific redeployment locations were withheld.
Foreign Minister Hussein affirmed that all remaining American military personnel have now left Iraqi soil, bringing the multi-decade international mission to an early end.