Washington, October 1: The United States has completed the withdrawal of its remaining military personnel from Iraq, marking the end of the US-led coalition’s combat mission against ISIS in the country.
President Donald Trump described the withdrawal as a decisive victory over the militant group, saying the US mission had achieved its main objective.
The final American troops and military equipment involved in the operation left Erbil in northern Iraq on September 30, according to US officials. Their departure formally closes the coalition’s military mission in Iraq after more than a decade of operations.
The US-led campaign began in 2014, when ISIS seized large stretches of Iraqi territory and captured several major cities. American forces returned to Iraq after the militant group emerged as a major security threat to the region.
Iraqi forces, supported by the US and an international coalition, gradually pushed ISIS out of the territory it had captured. The group lost its last major territorial strongholds in Iraq in 2017, while its territorial control in neighbouring Syria collapsed two years later.
Trump said the outcome demonstrated that the United States had accomplished what it had set out to do in Iraq. His administration has presented the withdrawal as a shift away from a prolonged military deployment.
The end of the coalition mission follows an agreement reached by Washington and Baghdad to wind down the international military presence in Iraq. The arrangement allows the two countries to maintain defence and security cooperation even after the withdrawal.
US officials have stressed that the departure of combat forces does not mean an end to American involvement in Iraq. Washington is expected to continue working with Baghdad through military training, intelligence sharing and other forms of security cooperation.
Although ISIS no longer holds territory in Iraq, the group remains active through smaller cells. Iraqi security forces continue to conduct operations against militants, particularly in remote and difficult-to-reach areas.
The United States first withdrew its forces from Iraq in 2011, but returned three years later following the rapid expansion of ISIS. The latest withdrawal represents another major change in America’s military presence in the country.
With the coalition mission now concluded, Iraqi forces will take primary responsibility for countering remaining ISIS threats, while the relationship between Washington and Baghdad moves towards a more conventional defence partnership.
