BAGHDAD,— The Iraqi government confirmed Sunday that US-led coalition troops have fully pulled out of all federal military bases in Iraq, excluding the autonomous Kurdistan region in the north.
The military committee supervising the coalition’s departure said the evacuation included all advisory personnel and leadership headquarters in Iraq’s official federal areas.
It said these sites are now “under the full control of Iraqi security forces,” and the next stage will involve “bilateral security cooperation with the United States.”
Most coalition forces had already left Iraq in line with a 2024 agreement between Baghdad and Washington.
The deal sets the official end of the mission in Iraq by the close of 2025 and in the Kurdistan region by September 2026.
US and allied troops first arrived in Iraq and Syria in 2014 to fight the Islamic State IS/ISIS group, which had captured large parts of both countries and declared its so-called caliphate.
Although IS lost territory in Iraq by 2017 and in Syria by 2019, it continues to operate small cells and carry out attacks.
The military committee said Iraqi forces are capable of stopping the return of IS in Iraq and preventing cross-border infiltration. It added that coordination with the coalition will continue for operations aimed at fully eliminating IS activity in Syria.
The statement noted that coalition forces maintain a logistical role in Iraq, supporting cross-border operations from an airbase in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
The threat remains tangible. In December, an IS attack in Syria killed two US soldiers and a civilian interpreter, highlighting the persistent dangers posed by the group.
Anti-IS missions in Iraq will be coordinated through the Ain al-Assad base in Anbar province in western Iraq. While attacks inside Iraq have dropped significantly in recent years, IS maintains a presence in remote mountainous areas.
A UN Security Council report released in August said IS has concentrated on rebuilding networks along the Syrian border and restoring its strength in the Badia region, a move that continues to challenge Iraqi and regional security.
(With files from AFP)
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