The United States military is on schedule to withdraw all remaining forces from Iraq by September 30, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Wednesday, ending a military presence that began with the 2003 invasion. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi described the deadline as fixed and final after meeting Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, in Baghdad, according to the prime minister's office and the Associated Press.
A U.S. official separately confirmed to the AP that Washington expects to complete the pullout by the deadline, but did not disclose how many troops remain or where they may be redeployed. Two Iraqi Kurdish officials said the movement of American personnel and equipment out of Erbil began about three weeks ago. U.S. forces left bases in most other parts of Iraq last year but retained a presence in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to wind down the U.S.-led coalition mission against the Islamic State group. The U.S. government reaffirmed in July that Operation Inherent Resolve would end by September 30 and said Iraqi forces, including the Peshmerga and other Kurdish security units, would assume the lead against militants. Bases in northern Iraq have faced repeated attacks since the United States and Israel began their war with Iran on February 28.
The withdrawal closes another chapter in a presence that reached more than 170,000 U.S. troops at the height of counterinsurgency operations in 2007. The last American combat troops departed in December 2011, but forces returned at Baghdad's invitation in 2014 after Islamic State seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. After the group lost its territorial rule, coalition combat operations ended in 2021, while about 2,500 U.S. troops stayed for training and joint counterterrorism work.
The September deadline also carries major domestic consequences. Al-Zaidi has ordered armed groups outside state control to surrender their weapons by the same date, arguing that the departure of foreign troops removes their stated justification for remaining armed. The AP reported that some powerful Iran-backed factions have rejected disarmament, raising doubts that Baghdad can meet that parallel deadline and increasing the importance of how Iraqi forces manage security after the coalition leaves.
Officials said the next phase of U.S.-Iraqi relations would emphasize economic ties and bilateral security cooperation based on sovereignty and shared interests. The immediate tests will be whether the withdrawal proceeds without disruption, whether Baghdad can protect the Kurdish region and suppress Islamic State cells, and whether the government can bring non-state weapons under its authority after October 1.
Comments