US to pull remaining troops out of Iraq, ABC reports

As the ABC writes, in 2024, Washington and Baghdad agreed to wind down the smaller-scale U.S.-led operations against the Islamic State group.

In 2025, US forces left bases in most areas of Iraq but maintained a presence in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region. However, since February 28, when the US and Israel launched their war against Iran, bases in that region have come under regular attack.

On Wednesday, August 12, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met with Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads US Central Command.

Following the meeting, al-Zaidi stated that September 30 is the final and irreversible date for the conclusion of the Global Coalition’s military mission to defeat ISIS in Iraq and the completion of its troop withdrawal.

A US official confirmed to ABC that the US expects to complete the withdrawal by September 30 but did not specify how many troops remain in Iraq or where they will be redeployed.

“The United States, Iraq and coalition partners have achieved tremendous success in defeating ISIS and now the Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, will lead the fight against terrorists in Iraq,” the US official said.

Two Iraqi Kurdish officials stated that the withdrawal of US troops and equipment from Erbil began approximately three weeks ago.

What else is important to know

At the peak of counterterrorism operations in 2007, US troop numbers in Iraq exceeded 170,000. In December 2011, the last combat units left the country. However, in 2014, the resurgence of the Islamic State and its seizure of large territories in Iraq and Syria led to the return of U.S. forces at the invitation of the Iraqi government.

After ISIS lost control of the territory it had previously claimed, coalition military operations formally concluded in 2021. The US maintained approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq for training and counterterrorism operations alongside Iraqi forces.

On March 20 of this year, NATO completed the withdrawal of its mission personnel from Iraq. Prior to that, Poland and Italy had also withdrawn their troops.