The Iraqi government announced Sunday that U.S. forces have completed a “full withdrawal” from military facilities in the country’s federal territory. This federal territory does not include the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, where US forces remain.
The Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced that the last contingent of U.S. advisers has departed from al-Asad Air Base in Iraq’s western Anbar province, where U.S. troops have been stationed for more than 20 years.
The U.S. military has been making cuts for several years, ever since the Iraqi government called for the reductions to take place in 2023.
The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group also withdrew from Joint Operations Command, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the facility was placed under full control of Iraqi security forces.
US forces remain at Khalil Air Base in Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region. Iraq’s central government does not fully control the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, which has its own government, parliament, and security forces, as permitted by Iraq’s constitution.
The U.S. military presence in Iraq has fluctuated significantly since the 2003 invasion. At its peak, the United States had 170,000 troops in Iraq. In 2011, President Barack Obama withdrew U.S. troops from the country. Approximately 5,000 troops were sent to Iraq in 2014 at the request of the Iraqi government, which sought U.S. assistance in the fight against ISIS.
The United States has kept approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq in an advisory and support capacity since December 2021, when the U.S. military announced the end of its combat role in Iraq.
For nearly a decade, the U.S. military has waged numerous deadly battles across the United States, starting with the military operation that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 4,418 U.S. military personnel died in Iraq between 2003 and 2012, 3,481 of whom died in hostilities. An additional 31,994 people were injured during the same period.
The deadliest year for the U.S. military was 2007, when 635 service members were killed at the height of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite communities.
Iraq’s Ministry of Defense released a video on Saturday showing senior Iraqi military commanders walking through empty halls and corridors at al-Asad Air Base.
U.S. Central Command told CNN on Sunday that the Iraqi Ministry of Defense’s statement about the extradition is “true.” No further details were provided.
The withdrawal comes amid regional tensions between the United States and Iran after President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran amid deadly street protests against the country’s dictatorship.
U.S. forces stationed at al-Asad base have been attacked dozens of times over the years by Iran and Iranian-backed groups.
In January 2020, Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on U.S. forces in al-Assad in retaliation for the killing of top Iranian military commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike on Baghdad airport. The heavy shelling lasted about two hours and targeted only the U.S. area of the shared base.
Following the attack on Israel by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Iranian-linked militias in Iraq launched a series of rocket attacks against al-Assad. In August 2024, an attack injured five U.S. military personnel and two U.S. contractors.
Iraq said on Sunday that all its armed forces have sufficient capabilities to make the country secure, and that future cooperation with the United States will focus on training, equipment acquisition, joint exercises and operational coordination under bilateral agreements.
Although Iraq considers the coalition mission to have ended on its territory, officials noted that coalition operations against ISIS and other terrorist groups continue in Syria. Baghdad expects logistical support to flow through the coalition air base in Erbil, and did not rule out a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation against ISIS launched by al-Assad if necessary.
Some Iranian-backed militias have cited the U.S. presence to justify holding weapons, and a U.S. withdrawal could strengthen the government’s position in negotiations to disarm non-state armed groups.
Militia groups such as Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, one of Iraq’s most powerful armed groups and designated as a “terrorist organization” by the United States, have refused to disarm. They said they would only hand over the weapons if Iraq gained full sovereignty, including the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.
There was no immediate comment from the militia on the announcement. Although many have been formally integrated into the Popular Mobilization Forces, they remain influential in Iraq’s security, political, and economic spheres.
