The United States formally concluded its military mission in Iraq on Wednesday, withdrawing its final troops from Erbil airbase and ending a 12-year campaign that dismantled the Islamic State group’s territorial caliphate. While Baghdad hailed the move as a milestone for national sovereignty, Kurdish officials and regional analysts warned of growing security risks.
Operation Inherent Resolve Concludes After Twelve Years
The departure of American forces from the air base in Erbil on Wednesday marked the end of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, fulfilling an agreement reached between Washington and Baghdad in 2024. The U.S. military presence in the country had evolved significantly since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, with troops withdrawing in 2011 before returning in 2014 after Islamic State militants seized roughly a third of Iraqi territory.
The pullout comes 23 years after U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein, triggering years of upheaval and chaos. Roughly 200,000 Iraqi civilian fatalities were recorded by the Iraq Body Count project, while America’s primary conflict of the current century claimed upwards of 4,500 U.S. service members—nearly double the death toll suffered during the concurrent campaign in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon said the U.S. and its coalition partners formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve. According to chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, the systematic pullout of American personnel and military assets from Erbil Air Base demonstrated the triumph of a 12-year initiative that crushed ISIS as an organized fighting force both locally and regionally, shifting the framework from a combat-focused coalition effort to an Iraqi-led defense mandate anchored in a standard bilateral security partnership. The coalition task force overseeing Operation Inherent Resolve is headquartered in Jordan.
President Donald Trump addressed the milestone from the White House on Wednesday, stating that the event represented both an American triumph and a definitive defeat for ISIS, which has been entirely wiped out.
“We came to fight a caliphate, and there is no longer a caliphate, so we are going home,”
President Donald Trump
Following Wednesday’s withdrawal, the Pentagon will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to Iraqi partners as Iraq assumes full responsibility to secure the country and keep the remnants of the Islamic State suppressed.
Baghdad Welcomes Sovereignty While Erbil Voices Defense Concerns
Presiding over the handover ceremony, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi characterized the American exit as the dawn of a fresh chapter centered on Iraqi authority, strong state institutions, capable armed forces, cohesive decision-making, and equitable ties with friendly nations.
Yet northern Kurdish authorities expressed unease that the initiative stemming from the Biden administration was proceeding despite their region being struck by Iranian missiles in the wake of the conflict initiated earlier this year by the United States and Israel. The departure of the last military units, stationed principally at an airfield inside the semi-autonomous Kurdish zone in Erbil, was lauded as a triumph by Tehran and its partners, even though numerous citizens feared domestic security forces lacked adequate preparation.
Unresolved Security Threats and Remaining ISIS Sleeper Cells
While international coalition forces defeated the group’s caliphate, coalition forces stayed on to battle the group’s remnants after the Islamic State seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria. U.S. diplomats and service members, along with regional partners like Saudi Arabia, have been targeted by Iran-supported armed factions inside Iraq. Apprehensions persist that Tehran might try to exploit the American departure—with allied proxies already jubilant over the shift—alongside worries regarding a possible resurgence of violence from surviving elements of the Islamic State extremist organization. Meanwhile, Iran-backed militias celebrated the American departure as a triumph for their regional alliance, raising fresh political concerns in Baghdad as the nation transitions to full independent security control.