US forces leave Iraq as coalition ends ISIS combat mission

The United States and its allies have completed a 12-year military operation against the militant group Islamic State in Iraq, the Pentagon said on Wednesday, as US forces prepare to leave their final bases in the country by the end of the day.

"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,"  said the statement.

US Department of War will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to its Iraqi partners, according to the statement.

The withdrawal agreement was reached in 2024 under the Biden administration and implemented under US President Donald Trump.

US-led forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011 after invading the country in 2003 and toppling longtime leader Saddam Hussein. They returned in 2014 at Baghdad's request to support Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State as part of an international coalition, with major combat operations against the group winding down by 2017. Over the years, the US troop presence was reduced to what the Pentagon described as a small advisory contingent.

The Iraq war was also one of the deadliest conflicts for the US military in recent decades. Nearly twice as many American service members were killed in "Operation Iraqi Freedom" as in the war in Afghanistan, which ended with a chaotic US withdrawal in 2021.

In recent years, Iraq has occupied a unique position in the region, maintaining close political and security ties with both the United States and Iran. The two countries have competed for influence in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, while Baghdad has sought to balance relations with both sides.

The United States killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad airport in 2020. Since then, Iran-aligned militia groups have repeatedly targeted US bases in Iraq, at times prompting retaliatory strikes from Washington. The cycle of attacks and reprisals intensified calls for the withdrawal of US forces, especially after the Gaza war expanded regional tensions and turned Iraq into a key arena in the broader Iran-US confrontation.

During this year's war with Iran, seven of the 18 US service members listed as killed were in Iraq. The latest was an army sergeant who died in July during the controlled detonation of a drone at a base near Erbil.