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The last remaining British and American military personnel have departed Iraq, formally bringing to a close a coalition mission that spanned more than ten years and fundamentally reshaped the country's security landscape. Approximately 100 UK troops left their base in Irbil, located in the northern Kurdistan region, in a departure that was coordinated over recent weeks with US forces who exited on the same day.
The withdrawal fulfills the terms of an agreement signed between Washington and Baghdad two years ago, which stipulated that all foreign troops would leave Iraqi territory by the end of this month. The end of the mission, officially designated Operation Inherent Resolve, marks a significant milestone in Iraq's post-2014 security trajectory and raises pressing questions about the country's capacity to maintain stability without its international partners on the ground.
British and American forces first deployed to Iraq in 2014 as part of the international coalition assembled to counter the rise of the extremist Islamic State group, which had seized vast swathes of territory across northern and western Iraq. At its peak, IS controlled an area roughly the size of Belgium and governed millions of people under its brutal interpretation of Islamic law. The coalition's air campaign and ground support proved instrumental in rolling back those gains.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi described the conclusion of the coalition's mission as "Iraq's transition to a phase in which it assumes full responsibility for its security and stability." His government has announced that the country will observe four "Sovereignty Days" as a national holiday to commemorate the withdrawal, a gesture intended to underscore the symbolic importance of foreign troops leaving Iraqi soil.
The UK Ministry of Defence issued a statement noting that Iraqi Security Forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga had secured "the enduring territorial defeat of Daesh in Iraq" and were now "well placed to take primary responsibility for the country's security." The statement, which used the Arabic acronym for IS, added that with these objectives achieved, Iraq and its international partners could begin "a new chapter focused on enduring security co-operation under Iraqi leadership."
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell characterized the coalition's departure from Irbil as "the successful conclusion of the military mission that defeated [IS] in Iraq." He was direct about what comes next, stating that "the primary responsibility for addressing Iraq's remaining security challenges, including [IS] remnants and Iran-aligned militias that undermine Iraqi sovereignty and regional stability, now rests with the government of Iraq."
The Iraqi government declared military victory over IS in 2017, but coalition forces remained in the country for nearly a decade afterward to prevent the group from regenerating. A recent United Nations report estimated that sustained counter-terrorism operations by Iraqi forces had reduced IS to several hundred fighters who were now "able to carry out unsophisticated operations only," suggesting the group's capacity for large-scale territorial conquest has been effectively eliminated.
However, the departure of US and UK forces introduces new uncertainties. The Iraqi government continues to face the challenge of Iranian-backed militias operating within its borders, groups that have grown increasingly assertive in recent years. Prime Minister Zaidi, who took office in May, has vowed to disarm these factions and bring all weapons under state control following the coalition's exit. But several powerful militias have resisted his plans, and analysts suggest their influence could expand now that American military pressure has been removed.
The final months of the coalition's presence were marked by escalating security threats. Since the outbreak of war between the US and Israel against Iran earlier this year, Iranian-aligned militias had been systematically targeting the remaining US and UK forces stationed at Irbil air base. Hundreds of Nato troops stationed in Baghdad were withdrawn in March as tensions mounted across the region.
A BBC team that visited the coalition base in Irbil in April, during a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, was forced to circle the base in an RAF transport aircraft while drones were being launched nearby. At the height of the US bombing campaign against Iran, the base was targeted by as many as 28 drones and missiles per day. RAF Regiment Gunners stationed at the facility shot down more than 100 drones during the first six weeks of the conflict, with many of the attacking aircraft launched by Iranian-backed militias operating inside Iraq.
In its tribute to departing personnel on Wednesday, the MoD highlighted the scale of the UK contribution to the counter-IS campaign. British forces provided "valuable support, training and assistance" to over 111,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces, including more than 21,000 Peshmerga fighters in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. The RAF also conducted thousands of sorties, striking more than 2,300 IS targets over the course of the mission.
Looking ahead, the RAF is expected to continue flying missions over neighboring Syria to prevent IS remnants from re-establishing a foothold there. The Pentagon has indicated that the US will maintain "targeted training and intelligence support" for its Iraqi partners, while US Central Command confirmed that the coalition's joint taskforce remains operational and is now based in Jordan. American forces will also continue their counter-IS mission in Syria, where the UN estimates the group still has up to 3,000 fighters.
This marks the third time that US and UK forces have withdrawn from Iraq. Tens of thousands of troops were deployed to the country in 1991 following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. They returned in 2003, when US President George W Bush ordered Operation Iraqi Freedom to remove the dictator from power and eliminate weapons of mass destruction that ultimately proved not to exist. The fierce sectarian insurgency that engulfed Iraq after the invasion cost tens of thousands of lives and left deep scars that continue to shape the country's politics today.
The latest withdrawal brings the coalition's military chapter to a close, but it opens a new and uncertain phase in which Iraq must navigate internal sectarian tensions, the ambitions of Iranian-backed militias, and the lingering threat of IS resurgence on its own. Whether Iraqi forces can hold the gains achieved over the past decade without their international partners remains the central question facing Baghdad in the months ahead.
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