The United States has completed a low-profile withdrawal from Iraq’s al-Asad Air Base in Anbar Province, effectively ending more than 20 years of American military operations in western Iraq, the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced on Saturday. The handover of the base was supervised by Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, the ministry said.
U.S. Central Command has not issued an immediate response to requests for comment on the transfer.
The withdrawal follows a September 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad to dissolve the U.S.-led coalition established to counter the Islamic State. While both governments originally planned to finalize the drawdown by September 2025, a limited U.S. advisory presence—estimated at 250 to 350 personnel—remained at al-Asad due to evolving security conditions in neighboring Syria.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump held a phone conversation with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, during which the two leaders discussed the situation in Syria and reaffirmed their commitment to preserving the country’s unity and combating terrorism, according to a statement posted by Damascus on X. Both sides also agreed to continue joint efforts against ISIS.
CENTCOM has emphasized ongoing coordination with Syrian partners in its campaign against the Islamic State. In a statement issued Saturday, CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said all parties in Syria were being encouraged to de-escalate tensions and seek solutions through dialogue, stressing that sustained military pressure on ISIS depends on close cooperation between Syrian forces, the U.S., and coalition partners. He added that regional stability hinges on a peaceful Syria and constructive relations with its neighbors.
Over the past month, U.S. forces and their partners have carried out multiple large-scale strikes on ISIS positions across Syria under “Operation Hawkeye State.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the campaign as a retaliatory response to a December 13 ISIS attack in Palmyra that killed two American service members and a U.S. civilian interpreter.
At the height of the Iraq War, U.S. troop numbers peaked at roughly 169,000 in August 2007, according to a Government Accountability Office report. Following the conclusion of the U.S. combat mission in December 2021, about 2,500 American personnel remained deployed across various Iraqi bases.
