The last U.S. troops assigned to the international military mission in Iraq are preparing to leave their remaining bases by Sept. 30, closing another chapter in an American military involvement that began with the 2003 invasion and later returned to confront the Islamic State group.
The final stage of the withdrawal is focused largely on northern Iraq, where several hundred troops remained after American forces had already left bases in Baghdad, Anbar province and other parts of the country. Iraqi officials have described Sept. 30 as the deadline for ending the military mission conducted under the international coalition.
For Baghdad, the withdrawal is being presented as a measure of national sovereignty and confidence in Iraqi security forces. Iraqi military officials say their forces are increasingly capable of pursuing Islamic State remnants without a permanent foreign military presence. The government is also strengthening its air defence capabilities as coalition equipment is removed.
Not everyone is equally confident. Residents in Falluja, a city that experienced some of the fiercest fighting involving U.S. troops after the 2003 invasion and later suffered under Islamic State control, have expressed concern about what security will look like after the coalition leaves. Families in the city continue to live alongside physical reminders of years of conflict.
Kurdish leaders have voiced some of the strongest concerns about the withdrawal. Officials in the Kurdistan region have warned that the removal of American forces and military protection could leave the autonomous region more exposed to missile and drone attacks. Kurdish forces have worked closely with the United States against Islamic State militants for years.
The withdrawal also intersects with a difficult dispute over powerful armed factions inside Iraq. The Iraqi government has been under pressure to bring armed groups outside the regular security forces more fully under state authority. Several factions maintain close ties with Iran, raising questions about whether Tehran could gain greater influence as the American military presence declines.
Iran and some allied Iraqi groups have portrayed the American departure as a political victory. Washington, however, has described the process as a transition rather than an end to its relationship with Iraq. The two governments are expected to continue cooperation in areas including military training, intelligence sharing, arms sales and counterterrorism.
The withdrawal timeline was agreed by Washington and Baghdad in September 2024. The first phase ended the coalition mission in federal Iraq, while the second phase allowed bases in Iraq to support operations against Islamic State militants in northeastern Syria through September 2026.
The United States first withdrew its forces from Iraq in 2011, eight years after the invasion that removed Saddam Hussein. American troops returned in 2014 at the Iraqi government’s request after Islamic State fighters seized Mosul and large areas of northern and western Iraq. Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga and the international coalition later stripped the extremist group of its territorial control, although smaller cells continue to operate.
For Iraqis, the departure carries different meanings shaped by more than two decades of war. Some see it as the final removal of a foreign military presence that became deeply unpopular after the invasion. Others worry about Islamic State remnants, heavily armed militias and Iraq’s ability to avoid becoming a battleground in wider regional conflicts involving Iran, the United States and their allies.
