Foreign troops' withdrawal from Iraq 'accelerating' as deadline approaches

Foreign coalition troops are rapidly departing Iraq as the September 30 deadline draws nearer, according to a government spokesman. "We are witnessing an acceleration in the process of the withdrawal of the international coalition forces," Sabah Al Numan, the military spokesman for Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi, stated at a press conference in Baghdad.

Al Zaidi, who has made meeting the withdrawal deadline a top priority since assuming office in May, declared it "fixed and final" this month. September 30, which also marks the deadline for non-state Iraqi armed groups to turn in their weapons, will be an "Iraqi national celebration and the completion of Iraqi sovereignty," Al Numan added.

The end of the foreign anti-ISIS mission signifies a new phase for Iraq, officials in Baghdad have said. "It is a national day on which sovereignty will be fulfilled, and we will move from the umbrella of the multinational coalition to the principle of sustainable relations, while preserving the supreme interests of Iraq as the highest priority," the spokesman emphasized.

Germany's military advisory mission in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region officially concluded on Wednesday, with the last German troops leaving the regional capital of Erbil. The departure of German forces, which had primarily focused on training Iraqi and Peshmerga forces, providing armament programs, and conducting aerial reconnaissance operations, marks the culmination of their role within the international coalition.

The site used by coalition forces near Erbil International Airport will be handed over to relevant authorities, while other military bases will be transferred to the Peshmerga, Iraq's Kurdish security forces.

Foreign forces have occupied Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein and ushered in years of sectarian strife. The US military presence swelled to over 170,000 troops during the height of Iraq's civil war in 2007. Although all US combat forces were removed by 2011, they returned in 2014 as part of the anti-ISIS coalition following the extremist group's seizure of vast swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Iraq declared victory over ISIS in 2017, more than two years before the group's defeat in Syria. Iraq and the US agreed to conclude smaller US-led operations against ISIS remnants in 2024. By the previous year, US troops had largely withdrawn from federal Iraqi areas, though they maintained a presence in the Kurdish region, where bases hosting US troops have frequently faced attacks since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28.