Last US and UK Troops Leave Iraq as 12-Year Anti-ISIS Mission Ends

The last American and British troops have left Iraq, bringing to an end the US-led coalition mission against the Islamic State group that began in 2014.

The Pentagon said on Wednesday that coalition forces and equipment had completed an "orderly departure" from the air base in Erbil, in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in the north. Around 100 remaining UK personnel left at the same time, in a withdrawal co-ordinated with US forces over recent weeks, the BBC reported.

The exit follows a 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad to wind down the mission, known as Operation Inherent Resolve.

An end to the coalition mission

"The orderly departure of Coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base marks the successful conclusion of the military mission that defeated ISIS in Iraq," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement reported by CBS News. "This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region."

He said the move marked "a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship."

US President Donald Trump welcomed the withdrawal in a post on Truth Social. "This Day is a victory for the United States, a victory for Iraq, and a decisive victory over ISIS," he wrote, according to AP.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said Iraqi Security Forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga "have secured the enduring territorial defeat of Daesh in Iraq and are now well placed to take primary responsibility for the country's security", the BBC reported.

The Pentagon said the US would continue to provide "targeted training and intelligence support" to Iraqi partners. US Central Command said the coalition's joint task force remained operational and was now based in Jordan, according to the BBC.

Baghdad celebrates, Kurds raise concerns

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi presided over the handover ceremony and described the moment as the start of "a new phase, one defined by Iraq's sovereignty, the strength of its institutions, the readiness of its forces, the unity of its decision-making, and balanced partnerships with its friends", AP reported. The government declared 30 September "Sovereignty Day" and announced a national holiday, CBS News reported.

The Kurdish regional government's Peshmerga Ministry said the region had faced more than 1,000 drone and ballistic missile attacks during the recent US-Iran conflict. "The departure of the United States from the Kurdistan Region under these complex regional circumstances, without the provision of a defense system, is a matter of concern," the ministry said, according to AP.

The question of the militias

The withdrawal comes as the US and Israel's war with Iran, which began on 28 February, continues. Bases in the Kurdish region have regularly come under attack since then, AP reported, and the Pentagon said militias affiliated with Iran launched more than 600 attacks on US citizens and facilities between February and April, according to CBS News.

Parnell said responsibility for "Iraq's remaining security challenges, including ISIS remnants and Iran-aligned militias that undermine Iraqi sovereignty and regional stability, now rests with the Government of Iraq."

Al-Zaidi, who took office in May, has pledged to disarm the armed factions and bring all weapons under state control. The government had initially linked the September deadline to militia disarmament. A handful of smaller groups have agreed to give up their weapons, but powerful factions close to Iran have rejected the idea or set conditions the government is unlikely to meet, AP reported. Al-Zaidi told The New York Times that the deadline for disarmament had been pushed to June 2027.

Iran-allied groups welcomed the US departure. "The expulsion of the occupation forces, defeated, from the land of Iraq is the beginning of full sovereignty," said Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official with the Kataib Hezbollah militia, according to AP.

What comes next

The Islamic State group no longer controls significant territory in Iraq. A recent UN report said sustained pressure from Iraqi forces had left the group with several hundred fighters "able to carry out unsophisticated operations only", the BBC reported.

The US will continue operations against the group in Syria, where the UN estimates it has up to 3,000 fighters, and the RAF is expected to keep flying missions over Syria, according to the BBC.

It is the third time US and British forces have withdrawn from Iraq, after their departures following the 1991 Gulf War and in 2011, according to the BBC.