United States to complete troop withdrawal from Iraq by September 30

The US military is pulling out of Iraq for good. All American troops and defense systems will leave the Kurdistan Region by September 30, concluding a presence that began with the 2003 invasion and persisted through the rise and fall of ISIS. The withdrawal represents the final chapter of a bilateral agreement signed in 2024 between Washington and Baghdad, which formalized the end of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS mission. Security responsibilities now rest with Iraqi forces, including the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who served as key partners throughout the counter-ISIS campaign. From 170,000 to zero At the peak of the Iraq War, more than 170,000 US troops were stationed across the country. By the time the counter-ISIS campaign ramped up after 2014, that number had shrunk to roughly 2,500. Now the figure is heading to zero. The final phase is concentrated in northern Iraq. Harir Air Base, located near the Kurdish capital Erbil, has been a focal point of the remaining US footprint. Reports from early September indicate that troops and military equipment are already moving out of the facility, putting the withdrawal on track to meet its deadline. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali ...