Pentagon Confirms Final US Troops Have Left Iraq, Ending 23-Year Military Presence

The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that the last remaining American troops assigned to the anti-ISIL coalition mission have departed Iraq, bringing an end to a military presence that spanned more than two decades. Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell said the final contingent of US personnel, alongside other international coalition forces and their equipment, carried out an "orderly departure" from Erbil Airbase in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

The announcement marks the culmination of a withdrawal process that has unfolded over several years and which Iraq's government has celebrated as a milestone in restoring full national sovereignty. Baghdad has long framed the foreign troop presence as a legacy of successive conflicts, beginning with the 2003 US-led invasion and continuing through the campaign against the Islamic State group.

According to the Pentagon, the remaining foreign troops had already been consolidated at Erbil by the end of last year, following a shift to an advisory role after ISIL lost its territorial hold in 2017. Prior to the departure, CENTCOM confirmed that Erbil Airbase hosted approximately 1,500 US and coalition personnel.

The US-led coalition first entered Iraq in 2003 under the banner of the Global War on Terror. American deployment levels peaked at roughly 170,000 military personnel in 2007 during the so-called surge. Washington pulled its forces out in 2011, only to redeploy them in 2015 as ISIL swept across large parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Parnell characterized the completion of the withdrawal as evidence of a successful twelve-year campaign that defeated ISIL as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region. He described the moment as a transition away from a wartime coalition framework toward what he called a more normal bilateral security relationship led by Iraqi forces.

The spokesman also made clear that responsibility for the country's remaining security challenges now falls squarely on Baghdad. He identified those challenges as including ISIL remnants and Iran-aligned militias that, in his words, undermine Iraqi sovereignty and regional stability. Parnell expressed Washington's expectation that Iraqi Security Forces, including the Kurdish Peshmerga and other forces in the Kurdistan Region, will lead continuing efforts to secure the country and keep ISIL cells suppressed.

Despite the withdrawal, Parnell indicated that the US would not sever its security engagement entirely. He said the Department of War would continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to Iraqi partners, suggesting a lighter but still active American role in the country's security architecture.

The military command overseeing the Middle East, CENTCOM, said the task force responsible for anti-ISIL operations has been relocated to Jordan. Several hundred US troops remain stationed in Syria, where they continue to operate as part of the broader regional mission against the group.

The decision to complete the pullout was set in motion years ago. President Donald Trump initially announced a full troop withdrawal from Iraq in 2020 as part of his pledge to end Washington's involvement in what he termed "endless wars." The final withdrawal plan was later formalized in 2024 through an agreement between former President Joe Biden and former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has welcomed the departure as the opening of a new chapter for his country, describing the relationship with Washington as shifting toward more conventional economic and security ties between two sovereign states. He has publicly urged regional and foreign powers to invest in Iraq, signaling an intent to reframe the country's international partnerships around development rather than military dependence.

The withdrawal coincides with al-Zaidi's broader effort to disarm powerful militias operating in Iraq, including several with close ties to Iran. That campaign aims to complete the disarmament process by June 2027. Many of these armed groups have historically cited the US troop presence as a justification for retaining their weapons and independent command structures, meaning the American exit removes a key argument they have relied upon.

Experts have cautioned that al-Zaidi's disarmament drive could trigger an internal standoff, particularly if the militias resist giving up their arsenals. Analysts also warn of renewed external pressure from Washington should Iran-aligned factions escalate attacks on American assets in the region, a scenario that could draw the US back into a security role it has just formally concluded.

Kurdish officials have emerged as some of the most vocal critics of the withdrawal. They argue that the absence of coalition forces leaves the Kurdistan region exposed both to strikes from Iran and to a potential resurgence of ISIL. Their concerns reflect longstanding anxieties about the security vacuum that could follow a foreign military exit.

Iraqi government forces, by contrast, have consistently maintained that they possess the capacity to confront security threats, including ISIL, without an American footprint on the ground. That assertion will now face its most significant test as Baghdad assumes sole responsibility for countering both militant cells and armed groups outside state control.

ISIL remains territorially defeated but continues to maintain sleeper cells across Iraq and Syria. Iraqi officials have warned that the group may attempt to ramp up its operations in the wake of the withdrawal, seeking to exploit any gaps left by the departing coalition forces. The coming months will reveal whether Iraq's security apparatus can prevent such a resurgence while simultaneously managing the political risks of disarming the country's powerful militias.