It remains to be seen how the withdrawal will affect the position of Iraq’s pro-Iran militias on disarmament.
Iraq said on Sunday US-led coalition forces had finished withdrawing from bases within the country’s federal territory, which excludes the autonomous northern Kurdistan region.
“We announce today … the completion of the evacuation of all military bases and leadership headquarters in the official federal areas of Iraq of advisers” of the US-led coalition, the military committee tasked with overseeing the end of the coalition’s mission said.
With the withdrawal, “these sites come under the full control of Iraqi security forces”, it said in the statement, adding that they would transition to “the stage of bilateral security relations with the United States”.
The vast majority of coalition forces had withdrawn from Iraqi bases under a 2024 deal between Baghdad and Washington outlining the end of the mission in Iraq by the end of 2025 and by September 2026 in the Kurdistan region.
US and allied troops had been deployed to Iraq and Syria since 2014 to fight the ISIS extremist group, which had seized large swathes of both countries to declare their so-called “caliphate”.
The jihadist group was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, but continues to operate sleeper cells.
The vast majority of coalition troops withdrew from Iraq over previous stages, with only advisers remaining in the country.
The military committee on Sunday said Iraqi forces were now “fully capable of preventing the reappearance of ISIS in Iraq and its infiltration across borders”.
“Coordination with the international coalition will continue with regards to completely eliminating ISIS’ presence in Syria,” it added.
It pointed to “the coalition’s role in Iraq offering cross-border logistical support for operations in Syria, through their presence at an airbase in Erbil”, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
In December, two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in Syria in an attack blamed on ISIS, sparking fears of a resurgence in the country.
The statement added that anti-ISIS operations would be coordinated with the coalition through the Ain al-Assad base in Anbar province in western Iraq.
ISIS attacks in Iraq have massively declined in recent years, but the group maintains a presence in the country’s mountainous areas.
A UN Security Council report in August said: “In Iraq, the group has focused on rebuilding networks along the Syrian border and restoring capacity in the Badia region.”
The US withdrawal is expected to bolster the government’s position as it seeks the disarmament of Iran-backed militias which had used the presence of US troops justified their refusal to relinquish weapons. It remains to be see how these militias will react to the US troop withdrawal.
In the meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday said Tehran is “pleased” with the evacuation of American forces from the Ain al-Asad Air base in western Iraq.
Addressing a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussain in Tehran after delegation-level talks, Araghchi said the handover of the base to Iraqi forces is a sign of “the strengthening of independence, stability, and political sovereignty in Iraq.”
In January 2020, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched a ballistic missile attack on US forces at Ain Al-Asad base after the killing of Quds Foce chief Qasem Soleimani.
In October 2023, pro-Iran militias also lobbed missiles strikes on the base.
