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U.S. Completes Troop Withdrawal from Iraq After Two Decades
The departure ends a 12-year campaign against ISIS and leaves Iraq to handle sleeper cells and armed militias, officials said.
On Wednesday, the United States completed its military withdrawal from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission against the Islamic State as Coalition forces finalized their departure from Erbil Air Base in the Kurdistan Region.
Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to wind down the mission, with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali describing the withdrawal as marking a new phase defined by Iraq's sovereignty and Iraqi-led security responsibility.
While Iran-backed groups celebrated the expulsion of "occupation forces," officials in the Kurdistan Region expressed anxiety about the removal of United States air defense systems after the region faced more than 1,000 drone and ballistic-missile attacks.
Abu Mujahid, a security official with the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, warned the government not to pursue "American plans," threatening that "any government that does not work for the benefit of the people will be overthrown by all means."
Prime Minister Ali recently pushed the deadline for militia disarmament to June 2027, while the United States will maintain targeted training and intelligence support to prevent the Islamic State from reestablishing a presence in Iraq.
The Pentagon has announced the official end of the mission of the antijihadist coalition, led by the United States, deployed in Iraq for 12 years. (ANSA)