United States Formally Ends Its Military Mission in Iraq

The United States military on Wednesday declared Operation Inherent Resolve over in Iraq, ending the campaign against the Islamic State that began in 2014. The final American and coalition personnel and equipment left Erbil Air Base in the country’s Kurdish north.

In a statement, the Pentagon described the departure as the successful conclusion of the military mission that defeated ISIS in Iraq. It said the United States would keep providing targeted training and intelligence support to Iraqi partners, and that primary responsibility for the country’s remaining security problems, including surviving Islamic State cells and Iran-aligned militias, now rests with the Iraqi government.

The withdrawal follows a 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad, reached during the Biden administration, to wind down the coalition’s operations, with the mission itself expected to end by the close of 2026. About 2,000 American troops were reported to be in Iraq earlier this year, a small fraction of the more than 160,000 stationed there at the height of the war in the late 2000s.

It is the second time the United States has pulled its forces out of Iraq since the 2003 invasion. President Barack Obama withdrew American troops at the end of 2011, then sent forces back in 2014 after Islamic State fighters seized large parts of the country, including Mosul. A coalition of dozens of countries was assembled to fight the group, which lost its hold on Iraqi territory in 2017.

Iraqi officials say they are ready. A government spokesman said the country’s security forces can keep the peace and maintain stability. The Pentagon said Iraqi security forces, including the Kurdish Peshmerga, will lead the effort to keep the Islamic State’s remnants suppressed.

The strongest argument for the exit is that the mission’s stated goal has been met: the group no longer holds territory in Iraq, and an open-ended foreign presence had become a target and a political irritant. Critics answer that the hardest problems remain. Iraqi security analysts questioned whether the country’s forces are prepared for the new phase, and in particular whether they can contain Iran-backed armed groups that the government has struggled to control. Some warned that any security vacuum could give the Islamic State room to recover.

The timing adds to the uncertainty. The withdrawal comes while the United States is at war with Iran, a conflict that has at times spilled into Iraqi territory and raised the threat to American personnel in the region. How Baghdad manages the militias aligned with Tehran is likely to be the first real test of the relationship that replaces the coalition.