U.S. military says its withdrawal of troops from Iraq is complete

U.S. Military notes its withdrawal of.

Key points

• He informed The New York Times earlier this month that the deadline for militia disarmament has been pushed to June 2027.
• Military confirmed on Wednesday that it has completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group.
• With the extremist group reduced to scattered sleeper cells, Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to wind the mission down.
• Troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein.
• The book, Do What Works, features a chapter by Governor Tate Reeves and Dr.

U.S. Military notes its withdrawal of troops from Iraq is complete. By: Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press – September 30, 2026.

In practice, the seal is seen on a podium at the Pentagon, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Washington, before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein).

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell remarked in an official note on Wednesday that U.S. Troops and equipment had completed an "orderly departure" from the last air base where they had been present in northern Iraq.

BAGHDAD (AP) – The U.S. Military confirmed on Wednesday that it has completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group. The last U.S. Troops left an air base in northern Iraq under a accord between Baghdad and Washington.

Notably, the withdrawal, agreed on two years ago, comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war between the United States and Iran that has additionally sometimes spilled over into Iraq, with Iran-backed militias firing on U.S. Troops and the U.S. Striking the groups' strongholds.

Over recent years, Washington has appeared to seek to shift its focus from the Middle East toward Asia, but that shift has been inconsistent, with the Pentagon alternating between reducing its Mideast presence and then finding itself engaging in new conflicts – including the ongoing war in Iran.

Baghdad touted the end of the U.S. Mission as a sign of the country's increasing strength and sovereignty.

For context, the withdrawal was additionally celebrated by Iran-backed groups but triggered concern among some other Iraqis, particularly in the Kurdish region, where numerous fear a resurgence of IS as well as more attacks by Iran-linked groups, possibly emboldened by the departure of U.S. Forces.

Meanwhile, questions loom around the future of the Iraqi militias. It the Baghdad administration has sought to disarm, with little success so far. A new phase in Iraq after decades of US involvement.

"This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region, " he remarked. "It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship."

He continued that the U.S. Military "will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to our Iraqi partners."

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi presided over the handover ceremony and described the U.S. Withdrawal as the beginning of a "new phase, one defined by Iraq's sovereignty, the strength of its institutions, the readiness of its forces, the unity of its decision-making, and balanced partnerships with its friends."

He remarked Iraqi security forces will continue the fight against IS and the administration will ensure that non-state groups no longer hold weapons.

U.S. Troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. They departed in 2011, but three years afterwards, Iraqi authorities invited a smaller U.S.-led mission to fight the Islamic State group. It had rampaged throughout Iraq, seizing sizeable swaths of territory.

U.S. Troops pulled out of bases in most areas of Iraq last year but maintained a small presence of hundreds of troops in the semiautonomous northern Kurdish region. Bases there have regularly come under attack since the U.S. And Israel introduced their war against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran-backed Iraqi militias additionally have coordinated with Yemen's Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the future of militias remains unclear.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi administration initially linked the Sept. 30 deadline for U.S. Withdrawal to the disarmament of non-state armed groups by that date.

While a handful of less-influential militias have agreed to turn over their weapons, powerful groups close to Iran rejected the prospect or set conditions for disarming that the administration would be unlikely to meet.

Al-Zaidi has since walked back the deadline. He informed The New York Times earlier this month that the deadline for militia disarmament has been pushed to June 2027.

For context, the effects of the U.S. Withdrawal may not be immediately visible, particularly since the U.S. Military presence had already been scaled down. But authorities in Iraq's Kurdish region have expressed anxiety concerning the departure and particularly regarding the removal of U.S. Air defense systems.

In practice, the Kurdish regional government's Peshmerga Ministry remarked the Kurdish region had faced more than 1, 000 drone and ballistic-missile attacks during the recent U.S.-Iran conflict.

"The departure of the United States from the Kurdistan Region under these complex regional circumstances, without the provision of a defense system, is a matter of concern, " the statement remarked. Iran-allied groups in Iraq, meanwhile, have celebrated the U.S. Withdrawal.

"The expulsion of the occupation forces, defeated, from the land of Iraq is the beginning of full sovereignty, " Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official with the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, remarked in an official note.

He continued a warning to al-Zaidi and his administration not to carry out American intends, threatening that "any government that does not work for the benefit of the people will be overthrown by all means." Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Istanbul contributed to this report. Regarding the Author(s). Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press. Education Frank Corder September 29, 2026.

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