US Troops to Complete Iraq Withdrawal by September 30, PM Says
BAGHDAD, IRAQ — WEB DESK: The remaining forces associated with the US-led international coalition are expected to complete their withdrawal from Iraq by September 30, 2026, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has said, marking the end of the coalition’s military mission against Islamic State in the country.
Baghdad has described September 30 as the “fixed and final” deadline for ending the coalition mission and completing the departure of its forces. Most US troops have already left bases in other parts of Iraq as the drawdown has progressed in stages.
A US official independently confirmed in August that Washington expected the withdrawal to be completed by September 30, providing direct American corroboration of Baghdad’s timetable.
September 30 Deadline ‘Fixed and Final’
Al-Zaidi reiterated the deadline during talks with US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper last month.
His office said September 30 would mark the end of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS military mission in Iraq, with October 1 beginning what Baghdad described as a new phase in the Iraqi state’s security trajectory.
Iraqi officials have repeated that position in subsequent statements.
Sabah al-Nu’man, spokesperson for the commander-in-chief of Iraq’s armed forces, said earlier this month that the deadline remained “fixed and final” and that the withdrawal of US and other foreign coalition forces was already under way.
The Iraqi government views completion of the process as an important assertion of national sovereignty.
Washington Confirms Withdrawal Timeline
The September deadline is not solely an Iraqi announcement.
A US official told AP in August that the United States expected to complete its military pullout by September 30, although the official did not disclose the precise number of American troops remaining in Iraq or where they would subsequently be deployed.
President Donald Trump had also publicly backed the withdrawal during Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi’s July visit to Washington.
Trump said the United States no longer believed its military presence in Iraq was necessary, while al-Zaidi said US forces would be out by September 30. The Pentagon subsequently reaffirmed the existing agreement to end the anti-ISIS coalition mission.
That makes the withdrawal timetable strongly corroborated by both governments.
Most US Forces Already Withdrawn
The process has been unfolding gradually rather than as a single departure on September 30.
US forces had already withdrawn from bases in most areas of Iraq, while a remaining presence continued in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north.
Iraqi Kurdish officials said in August that the movement of US troops and equipment out of Erbil had begun weeks earlier.
Other coalition members have also been leaving. Iraqi officials said German forces recently completed their withdrawal from Erbil after years of involvement in training, reconnaissance and support missions against ISIS.
The coalition was formed in 2014 after Islamic State captured large areas of Iraq and neighbouring Syria.
Iraqi Forces to Assume Security Responsibility
The end of the coalition mission means Iraqi forces will carry the primary responsibility for combating remaining ISIS threats inside the country.
A US official said Iraqi security forces, including Kurdish Peshmerga units, would lead counterterrorism efforts after what Washington described as significant progress against ISIS.
Iraq’s security forces have received extensive training and support from the United States and coalition partners during the decade-long anti-ISIS campaign.
The withdrawal therefore represents a transition from an international military mission towards Iraqi-led security rather than an assertion that ISIS or other militant threats have disappeared entirely.
US-Iraq Relations Will Continue
The end of the coalition mission does not mean the end of relations between Washington and Baghdad.
Express reports that the two governments intend to maintain economic and security cooperation after the military mission concludes.
Trump similarly said during his July meeting with al-Zaidi that the broader US-Iraq relationship would continue even without the same military presence.
Future security cooperation could therefore involve training, intelligence, diplomatic coordination and other bilateral arrangements without retaining the existing coalition structure.
There is also an important qualification surrounding the phrase “all US troops leave Iraq.” A recent Iraqi political report said personnel assigned specifically to protect the US Embassy, diplomatic facilities and American interests could remain after the coalition mission ends.
For publication, it is therefore safest to distinguish the confirmed end of the US-led coalition’s military mission from any limited diplomatic-security presence that may continue under separate arrangements.
Withdrawal Follows 2024 Agreement
The September 30 deadline stems from an agreement reached between Baghdad and Washington in 2024 to wind down the coalition’s military mission against Islamic State.
At that time, about 2,500 American military personnel remained in Iraq, although that number has since fallen substantially as bases were vacated and forces consolidated or departed.
The withdrawal closes another chapter in a US military involvement that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
American troop levels exceeded 170,000 at their 2007 peak. Most forces withdrew in 2011 before US troops returned in 2014 as part of the campaign against Islamic State.
Armed Groups Become Next Major Issue
The withdrawal is also closely connected to a contentious domestic issue: armed factions operating outside direct Iraqi state control.
Al-Zaidi has argued that the departure of foreign coalition forces removes one of the principal arguments used by armed factions to justify maintaining independent military capabilities.
However, Iraqi security adviser Qasim al-Araji has clarified that September 30 is the deadline for the coalition withdrawal, not an automatic deadline for militias to surrender their weapons. Negotiations over bringing weapons under exclusive state control are expected to continue afterward.
That distinction is important because the future of powerful armed groups remains one of Iraq’s most difficult political and security challenges.
A New Phase for Iraq
If the timetable is completed as planned, October 1 will mark the beginning of a new phase in Iraq’s post-ISIS security architecture.
The most firmly verified development is that Baghdad and Washington both expect the US-led coalition’s military mission and troop withdrawal to be completed by September 30, with Iraqi security forces taking the lead against remaining militant threats.
The longer-term US-Iraq relationship, including any limited personnel connected with diplomatic protection or future bilateral security cooperation, will need to be distinguished from the coalition mission that is now ending.
