The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced Wednesday that the United States and its coalition partners had officially concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq following the organized withdrawal of coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base.
اضافة اعلان
The Pentagon said the withdrawal marks the end of the military mission that led to the defeat of Islamic State militants in Iraq, adding that Iraqi security forces will take responsibility for ongoing efforts to secure the country and pursue remaining elements of the group.
The Pentagon added that the US Department of Defense will continue providing targeted training and intelligence support to its Iraqi partners as part of ongoing security cooperation between the two sides.
The US-led international coalition deployed forces to Iraq and Syria in 2014 to confront the Islamic State after the group seized large areas of both countries. Baghdad declared the group militarily defeated in Iraq in 2017, while Islamic State lost most of its territorial control in Syria by 2019.
Despite the end of the group’s territorial control, the coalition maintained its presence to support Iraqi forces in confronting remaining cells. The gradual withdrawal from Iraq began under an agreement reached between Baghdad and Washington in 2024.
By early 2026, coalition forces in Iraq were limited to the Kurdistan region in the north. Their withdrawal was completed on Wednesday, bringing the coalition’s military mission in Iraq to an end after nearly 12 years.
Iraqi authorities have said their security forces are now capable of confronting threats from the Islamic State, while Baghdad’s relations with coalition countries have shifted from the framework of the international military mission toward bilateral security partnerships.
Coalition forces have come under attacks in recent years by Iraqi armed factions using drones and rockets, with US forces responding with strikes against positions belonging to those factions.
