United States leaves its last bases in Iraq under a 30 September 2026 deadline, ending the US-led coalition mission

29 September 2026

United States forces left their last bases in Iraq under a withdrawal deadline of Wednesday 30 September 2026, ending the deployment of the US-led coalition whose operation against ISIL was first launched in 2015.
The withdrawal was agreed in 2024 under President Joe Biden and carried out by Donald Trump's administration.
Around 2,500 US troops had been stationed in Iraq in recent years, and 4,500 Americans died during more than two decades of war.
In the wake of the withdrawal the two countries appear to be reverting to the 2008 Strategic Framework and Security Agreement, signed under President George W Bush, which pledges continued, if non-binding, US security support for Iraq.
Iraq is set to hold four Sovereignty Days, a national holiday marking the complete withdrawal of US troops.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said Iraq is striving to ensure that the state is the ultimate decision-maker in matters of peace and war and that weapons remain in the hands of its constitutional institutions, and that the relationship with strategic partners is moving from military cooperation to economic and development cooperation.
The government pushed back an initial 30 September 2026 deadline to June 2027 for bringing all weapons under state control.