Archive · 13 Aug 2026
US Military Withdrawal from Iraq Set for September 30
The United States is getting ready to leave Iraq for good.
Iraq's leader, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, says every American soldier must be out of the country by September 30.
American soldiers have been in Iraq for 23 years, first arriving in 2003.
They came back in 2014 to help Iraq fight a dangerous group called ISIS.
ISIS has now been defeated, so the mission is ending.
Starting October 1, Iraq says it will be free of any foreign military presence.
Iraqi soldiers, including the Peshmerga forces in the north, will take over the job of protecting the country.
The United States and Iraq say they will keep working together on trade and security as friends.
This is seen as a new day for Iraq after more than two decades of foreign troops.
Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi announced that September 30 is the fixed and final date for ending the US military mission in Iraq.
The withdrawal ends a 23-year US presence that began with the 2003 invasion against Saddam Hussein.
Al-Zaidi confirmed the deadline after meeting US Central Command Commander General Brad Cooper and discussed it during his mid-July visit to Washington, DC.
A US official told The Associated Press that the US expects to complete its pullout, but declined to say how many troops would remain or where they would be redeployed.
Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region forces, will lead the fight against terrorists after coalition forces depart.
- Who
- Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and US Central Command Commander General Brad Cooper
- What
- The US military will withdraw all of its forces from Iraq by September 30, ending the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS mission
- When
- Announced on Wednesday; the withdrawal deadline is September 30, with October 1 marking the end of foreign military presence
- Where
- Iraq, including the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region
- Why
- To end the 23-year US military presence so Iraqi security forces can lead the fight against terrorists and ties shift toward economic and security cooperation
- Withdrawal deadline
- September 30
- End of foreign military presence
- October 1
- Length of US presence
- 23 years, beginning with the 2003 invasion
- Peak US troop levels
- Over 170,000 troops in 2007
- Reason US troops returned
- The rise of ISIL in 2014, at the Iraqi government's invitation
- End of coalition operations
- 2021
- Future US-Iraq relationship
- Economic and security cooperation based on mutual respect for sovereignty
- Who will lead future counterterrorism
- Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region forces