World · India Bureau
US Withdraws Final Troops From Iraq, Ending 12-Year Military Mission
The United States has completed its military withdrawal from Iraq, concluding over a decade of operations against the Islamic State. The final contingent of American forces departed from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq.
LSN India ·
The last contingent of United States military personnel has left Iraq, marking the end of a 12-year military engagement in the country. The withdrawal was completed from Erbil Air Base in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, where American forces had maintained a significant presence.
The conclusion of the mission represents a major shift in US military posture in the Middle East. American forces had been deployed to Iraq primarily to counter the Islamic State, which had seized large swathes of territory across Iraq and Syria in 2014.
President Donald Trump characterised the withdrawal as a victory, emphasising the defeat of the extremist group. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani hailed the development as a new chapter in Iraqi sovereignty, underscoring Baghdad's desire to assert greater independence in national security matters.
The withdrawal comes after years of negotiations between Washington and Baghdad over the presence of US military forces on Iraqi soil. Iraq had been seeking to reduce the American military footprint as its own security forces gained capability.