Last US and UK troops leave Iraq as anti-ISIS coalition mission ends

The last US and British troops have left Iraq, ending the US-led coalition’s 12-year military mission against the Islamic State group under a withdrawal agreement reached by Washington and Baghdad two years ago.

The remaining 2,500 US troops withdrew from Iraqi territory, and about 100 British personnel departed on Wednesday from Erbil in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. US President Donald Trump called the withdrawal “a victory for the United States, a victory for Iraq and a decisive victory over ISIS.” Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Iraq was assuming full responsibility for its security and stability, and the government announced four “Sovereignty Days” as a national holiday to mark the end of the foreign deployment.

Operation Inherent Resolve began in 2014 after Islamic State captured large areas of Iraq and Syria. Iraq declared the group territorially defeated in 2017, but coalition forces remained to train and support Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga forces. A recent United Nations assessment said sustained Iraqi counterterrorism operations had reduced Islamic State to several hundred fighters capable only of unsophisticated attacks.

The withdrawal leaves Baghdad responsible for addressing remaining Islamic State cells and Iran-aligned armed groups. Al-Zaidi has pledged to bring militias under state control, but his government has extended the disarmament deadline to June 30, 2027, and several powerful factions have resisted surrendering their weapons.

Turkey continues to maintain troops in Iraq, although Ankara has said it will gradually transfer a northern military base to Iraqi control.