The U.S.-led coalition is preparing to pull out of Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraq’s Anbar province next week, ending years of coalition operations at one of the most heavily targeted U.S. facilities in the country.
Iraqi officials say the withdrawal will be complete.
Lt. Gen. Qais al-Mohammadi, deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command, said coalition forces will fully hand over the base to Iraqi units, calling the move a milestone for Iraqi sovereignty and military capability.
“Ain al-Asad will witness a full withdrawal next week and be transferred to our Iraqi units,” Mohammadi said.
There has been no standalone press release from the Pentagon or U.S. Central Command announcing the handover. U.S. officials have instead pointed to earlier agreements outlining a phased reduction of the coalition mission in Iraq and a shift toward bilateral security cooperation.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in September that coalition combat forces are no longer needed in Iraq, though Baghdad intends to maintain defense agreements with select partners, including the United States.
Iraqi military leaders argue the threat environment has changed. Mohammadi said ISIS no longer has the ability to plan or conduct effective operations, control territory, or seriously disrupt security. Iraqi officials reported only four ISIS attacks in 2025, down from 42 the year before, all described as ineffective.
Ain al-Asad has long been a political and military flashpoint. The base has been repeatedly targeted by Iran-aligned militias opposed to the U.S. presence, including rocket and drone attacks that underscored the growing risk to U.S. forces even as ISIS faded as a conventional threat.
Despite Iraq’s declared victory over ISIS in 2017, about 2,500 U.S. troops remain in the country, primarily stationed near Baghdad International Airport and at Irbil Air Base in the Kurdistan Region. Their mission has focused on advising, intelligence sharing, and counter-terrorism support.
The departure from Ain al-Asad marks another step in the slow drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq—less a victory parade than a quiet exit from a base that increasingly became a liability rather than a launch point.
For now, Iraqi forces inherit the ground. The region will decide whether the security holds.
