Iraq Enters New Security Era as US-Led Coalition Mission Officially Ends

The last remaining United States forces have pulled out of their bases in Iraq, bringing the American-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIL (ISIS) to a formal close and ushering in what Baghdad is calling a new chapter in the country's security arrangements. The departure marks the culmination of a two-year phased drawdown and ends more than two decades of foreign military presence on Iraqi soil.

To commemorate the moment, Iraq has declared four "Sovereignty Days," a national holiday running from September 30 to October 3. The occasion is being treated with considerable symbolism in Baghdad, where officials portray the exit as a restoration of full national control over security matters. Celebratory activities included convoys of Iraqi security forces driving through the capital, while banners and a stage were set up for official events.

The withdrawal itself was set in motion by a joint Iraq-US statement issued in September 2024, which outlined a two-stage wind-down of the coalition mission. Under that framework, combat operations inside Iraq were to conclude by the end of September 2025 at the latest, while the second phase, running until September 2026, was designed to sustain operations against ISIL in neighbouring Syria through a mechanism agreed by the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission.

By January of this year, Iraq announced that coalition advisers had finished departing from federal areas, though logistical support for the Syria mission continued to be channelled through a base in Erbil, the principal city of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Wednesday's deadline closed out that remaining arrangement.

The drawdown ends Washington's 12-year operation in support of Iraqi forces, a mission that began in 2014 after ISIL seized large swathes of territory across Iraq and Syria. At its peak, the US presence in Iraq since that intervention was relatively small, with roughly 2,500 military personnel concentrated mainly in the north. That figure stands in stark contrast to the 170,000 US troops stationed in Iraq in 2007, at the height of the occupation that followed the 2003 invasion.

American forces were previously withdrawn from Iraq in 2011 under President Barack Obama, only to be invited back three years later as ISIL surged. During that second phase, the US role centred largely on air support, training and intelligence-sharing with Iraqi forces rather than frontline combat.

What is leaving with the troops extends well beyond personnel. Military equipment, including critical air defence systems, is being pulled out as well. Those defences, particularly in Erbil, had been used to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles and drones during the current war, making their removal a sensitive issue for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Kurdish military commander Sirwan Barzani told Reuters that Iraq could lose three additional capabilities as a result of the withdrawal: US intelligence, logistical support and drones. Those assets had been deeply integrated into the campaign against ISIL and into the defence of northern Iraq.

The concerns are most pronounced in the KRG, which administers Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The KRG's Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, which oversees the Kurdish armed forces and played a central role in the anti-ISIL campaign, says the region has absorbed more than 1,000 drone and ballistic missile attacks since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani voiced those worries publicly on Sunday, saying that leaving the Kurdistan region without any defence system in place was a cause for concern. His office was targeted in a drone attack last month, which officials have attributed to a launch from Iranian territory, underscoring the threat environment the region faces.

Baghdad, for its part, insists that the handover of security responsibilities has been gradual and that Iraqi forces are ready. On Monday, Iraqi Air Force commander Lieutenant General Khalid al-Tamimi told state news that no coalition force had carried out any duties inside the country since the beginning of 2026, suggesting the transition on the ground predated the formal deadline.

Al-Tamimi said Iraqi drones had taken over reconnaissance duties previously flown by coalition aircraft, and that the air force now conducts daily aerial surveys across the country. He also highlighted Iraq's ability to independently operate and maintain its fleet of F-16 fighter jets, noting they had flown missions for ten days without external assistance, a sign of growing self-reliance.

Even so, the strategic picture remains unsettled. The coalition's expiry removes a longstanding pillar of Iraq's defence architecture at a time of heightened regional tension, with the war involving the US, Israel and Iran continuing to reverberate across Iraqi airspace and territory.

The coming months will test whether Baghdad's stated confidence in its own forces matches reality, particularly in the north, where Kurdish leaders have warned that the loss of air defences and intelligence support could leave a dangerous gap. The implications extend beyond Iraq's borders as well, since the coalition's Syria operations depended on logistical links that ran through Erbil.

For now, Iraq is framing the moment as a milestone of sovereignty rather than a security gamble. The four-day holiday underscores that message. But the questions raised by the exit, about air defence, intelligence and the ability to deter future threats, are likely to define Iraqi security policy for years to come.