US military withdraws from Iraq, ending years-long mission

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The U.S. military has formally ended its mission against ISIS in Iraq, completing the withdrawal of American and coalition forces from the country after a 12-year campaign.

U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday that U.S. forces and equipment had completed their departure from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq, the main operational hub for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve.

The base had hosted most of the roughly 1,500 American and coalition personnel supporting counter-ISIS operations there.

The withdrawal marks the conclusion of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and follows a transition plan announced by the United States and Iraq in September 2024.

“The orderly departure of Coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base marks the successful conclusion of the military mission that defeated ISIS in Iraq,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Wednesday.

Parnell said the milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat and shifts responsibility for the country’s security to Iraqi forces.

The departure also closes another chapter in more than two decades of U.S. military involvement in Iraq.

The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 under Operation Iraqi Freedom, leading to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. American forces withdrew in 2011 but returned three years later as ISIS seized large portions of Iraq and neighboring Syria.

CENTCOM established Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in 2014 to advise, assist and support partner forces fighting ISIS. Iraq declared territorial victory over the terrorist group in 2017, but the U.S.-led mission continued as Iraqi and Kurdish forces worked to prevent its resurgence.

American and coalition forces began their latest withdrawal from federal Iraq in October 2025. That process concluded Wednesday with the removal of remaining personnel and equipment from Erbil Air Base.

CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said ISIS “no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq’s national security” and said Iraqi security forces, including Kurdish Peshmerga forces, now have the capacity and operational independence to manage threats inside the country.

That does not mean the U.S. relationship with Iraq — or the broader fight against ISIS — is over.

The Pentagon says the wartime coalition mission is transitioning to a more traditional bilateral defense relationship between Washington and Baghdad.

The Pentagon also says responsibility for other security challenges, including Iran-aligned militias operating inside Iraq, now primarily rests with the Iraqi government. U.S. officials say Washington remains committed to preventing ISIS from rebuilding its capabilities in the country.

Operation Inherent Resolve itself is also continuing outside Iraq. Its joint task force is now headquartered in Jordan, and CENTCOM says U.S. forces will continue counter-ISIS operations in Syria alongside coalition partners and the Syrian government.

President Donald Trump called the withdrawal a “decisive victory” Wednesday, saying it was time for American forces to leave Iraq.

“I had a choice to stay or to leave, and felt, without question, that it was time for America to go home!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.