A chapter that began 23 years ago has closed.
The Pentagon confirmed that the final American troops left an air base in Erbil, in Iraq's Kurdish region, this week, completing the full withdrawal of United States forces from the country. The departure met a deadline set in a 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad, which laid out a timeline for winding down the American military mission that began with the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. President Trump marked the moment publicly, saying the last American forces were leaving and calling it a milestone for both countries as well as a sign that the Islamic State, the extremist group the American mission was most recently focused on fighting, had been significantly weakened in Iraq.
In Baghdad, security officers celebrated the completed withdrawal. The moment carries different weight in different parts of the country. For the federal government, it represents the conclusion of more than two decades of American military involvement, a period that included the 2003 invasion, years of counterinsurgency operations, the rise and territorial defeat of the Islamic State, and more recently a narrower advise and support mission. For officials in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, the withdrawal raises a more immediate concern, the loss of American air defense support, which had helped the region during a year that saw repeated drone and missile activity tied to regional tensions, including a period of conflict this year between the United States and Iran that touched parts of the region.
The withdrawal does not mean the United States is stepping away from the region entirely. Washington maintains bases and forces elsewhere in the Middle East, and American diplomats continue to coordinate with Baghdad on security and economic matters. But the end of a permanent troop presence inside Iraq itself is a significant symbolic and practical shift, closing out one of the longest sustained American military deployments of the past quarter century.
Watch how Iraq's government and the Kurdish regional authorities manage security cooperation without a permanent American troop presence, and whether Washington offers alternative security arrangements for the Kurdish region.
Why did U.S. troops leave Iraq now?
Their departure followed a timeline set in a 2024 agreement between the United States and Iraq, and the final troops left an air base in Erbil this week.
Does this mean the U.S. is leaving the Middle East?
No, the United States maintains forces and bases elsewhere in the region; this withdrawal applies specifically to Iraq.