United States Completes Withdrawal of Remaining Troops from Iraq on September 30, Ending 12-Year Operation Inherent Resolve Mission

The United States military completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq on September 30, 2026, ending Operation Inherent Resolve, a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group that began in 2014, according to CNN, KSAT, The Jakarta Post, and The National citing the US military and Iraqi officials. The last US troops left the Harir Air Base in northern Iraq under a deal between Baghdad and Washington agreed in 2024, with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi confirming September 30 as the fixed and final deadline in August 2026. Iraq is celebrating the withdrawal with a national holiday dubbed Independence Day or Sovereignty Day. American forces will continue to support operations against ISIS in Syria from bases outside Iraq. Al-Zaidi has promised to disarm Iran-backed militias in Iraq by June 2027, extending an earlier September 2026 deadline.

The withdrawal removes a direct American military footprint from Iraq for the first time in 23 years and shifts Iraqi-US ties to bilateral security and economic cooperation, but leaves unresolved the question of whether Baghdad can effectively contain Iran-backed militias without American support. Powerful Iran-backed groups including Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba have refused to disarm until foreign troops leave and threatened the government, while only two prominent pro-Tehran armed groups and one cleric-aligned faction claim to have placed weapons under state authority.

Sources

CNN, The US military says its withdrawal of troops from Iraq is complete, September 30, 2026, cnn.com; KSAT, The US military says its withdrawal of troops from Iraq is complete, September 30, 2026, ksat.com; Al Jazeera, Iraq says September 30 withdrawal deadline for US-led coalition 'final', August 12, 2026, aljazeera.com; The Jakarta Post, US-led coalition ends mission in Iraq, September 30, 2026, thejakartapost.com; The National, Iraq hails US-led coalition withdrawal as milestone whilst militias claim victory, September 30, 2026, thenationalnews.com; Wikipedia, Ali al-Zaidi, accessed September 30, 2026, en.wikipedia.org; Wikipedia, Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, accessed September 30, 2026, en.wikipedia.org; Britannica, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, accessed September 30, 2026, britannica.com