US-led coalition completes Iraq withdrawal after Islamic State mission

The US-led coalition is ending its mission in Iraq after more than a decade of operations against Islamic State, with its final withdrawal from the autonomous Kurdistan region scheduled for Wednesday. The coalition deployed to Iraq and Syria in 2014 after Islamic State seized large areas of both countries and carried out massacres and other atrocities. The group was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, although coalition forces remained to confront its remnants.

Baghdad and Washington agreed in 2024 to end the coalition’s mission in Iraq. Troops subsequently withdrew from bases across the country, eventually limiting their presence to Kurdistan. The coalition had already left Syria earlier this year.

The Iraqi government says the departure removes the justification that powerful Tehran-backed armed factions have used to retain their weapons. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi declared that October 1, the day after the withdrawal, should be observed as Sovereignty Day. The heads of Iraq’s executive, legislative and judicial branches said the departure affirmed the country’s sovereignty and the role of state institutions.

They also said weapons outside state authority would need to be addressed according to government timelines. Zaidi, who took office this year with US backing, has pledged to strengthen the state’s control over arms and persuade armed groups to surrender their weapons. His government initially set September 30 as a disarmament deadline, but later withdrew it while talks continued on regulating weapons.

The issue remains contentious. Kataeb Hezbollah said the departure was a step towards full sovereignty but warned that a government failing to serve the people could be brought down. During the fight against Islamic State, the coalition and Tehran-backed factions shared an enemy; after the group’s defeat, the coalition’s presence became a focus of confrontation, including drone and missile attacks and US retaliatory strikes.