The United States has completed its military withdrawal from Iraq, formally ending Operation Inherent Resolve after 12 years of operations against Islamic State.
US forces and equipment left Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq on Wednesday, September 30, under a previously agreed transition between Washington and Baghdad. The departure brings the coalition’s Iraq-based mission to a close and transfers primary responsibility for the country’s security to Iraqi forces.
US Central Command said the withdrawal marked a shift towards a bilateral defence relationship between the United States and Iraq. The Combined Joint Task Force responsible for the operation remains active, but is now headquartered in Jordan and will continue supporting counter-Isis operations in Syria alongside coalition partners and the Syrian government.
Operation Inherent Resolve was established in 2014, after Islamic State seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. The coalition trained, advised and supported Iraqi security forces, including the Kurdish Peshmerga, during the campaign to defeat the group’s territorial control.
Erbil Air Base had served as the main operational hub for the mission and hosted most of the roughly 1,500 American and coalition personnel involved in counter-Isis activities. The wider drawdown began last October, with coalition forces leaving bases in federal Iraq before the final departure from the Kurdistan region.
Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command, said the operation had enabled Iraqi and Kurdish forces to develop the capacity to manage threats independently.
“Because of your grit, sacrifice and professionalism, ISIS no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq’s national security,” he said, praising the American service members, diplomats and civilian personnel who had served in the country.
The British Government said UK personnel had also departed Iraq as the coalition mission concluded. It said security cooperation would continue through a bilateral defence partnership focused on counter-terrorism, military education and developing Iraqi capabilities.
The US withdrawal comes amid heightened regional tensions and an ongoing conflict between Washington and Iran, which has at times spilled into Iraq. Iran-backed militias have attacked US forces in the country, while American forces have struck militia positions.
Although the Islamic State no longer controls territory in Iraq, the group continues to operate through scattered sleeper cells. US forces will remain positioned elsewhere in the region and have said they are prepared to respond if a renewed threat emerges.
