U.S. Forces Leave Erbil Air Base, Ending Inherent Resolve Mission in Iraq

MIDDLE EAST — U.S. Central Command completed the orderly departure of U.S. forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq on September 30, marking the end of the Operation Inherent Resolve mission in Iraq, the command said.

The U.S. Department of War stated the same day that the United States and Coalition partners formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, consistent with the September 2024 U.S.-Iraq joint statement.

Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), the Coalition headquarters established in 2014, remains operational and is now headquartered in Jordan, CENTCOM said, while U.S. forces continue the counter-ISIS mission in Syria alongside Coalition partners and the Syrian government.

Iraqi Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi announced the official conclusion of the Global Coalition mission against ISIS in Iraq at a Sovereignty Day ceremony in Baghdad on September 30, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported from the Prime Minister’s media office.

President Donald J. Trump stated the same day that the last American forces were leaving Iraq and that the United States was “going home.”

The Kurdistan Regional Government Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, writing on September 28 before the departure, said U.S. forces would leave Iraq including the Kurdistan Region on September 30 and that the withdrawal would not be accompanied by an alternative air-defense system.

Locations Affected, Latest Developments

• Erbil Air Base, Erbil, Iraq, the former main operational hub for CJTF-OIR, at approximately 36.24, 43.96. The airfield sits about 4 miles (6 km) northwest of central Erbil and about 220 miles (350 km) north of Baghdad.

• Baghdad, Iraq, site of the Sovereignty Day ceremony hosted by the Office of the Commander-in-Chief.

• Amman, Jordan. The Department of War Office of Inspector General April-June report stated that U.S. forces transitioned the counterterrorism headquarters to support operations from Amman. CENTCOM’s September 30 release named Jordan and did not name the installation.

• Syria, where U.S. forces continue the counter-ISIS mission with Coalition partners and the Syrian government. The Department of War Office of Inspector General reported in its April-June oversight report that the United States transferred its last open base in Syria to the Syrian government in April.

Latest Developments

• CENTCOM said on September 30 that U.S. forces and equipment completed an orderly departure from Erbil Air Base, ending the Operation Inherent Resolve mission in Iraq.

• The Department of War said the United States and Coalition partners formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq the same day and will continue targeted training and intelligence support.

• CENTCOM said CJTF-OIR remains operational and is now headquartered in Jordan, with the counter-ISIS mission continuing in Syria.

• Prime Minister Al-Zaidi announced in Baghdad that Iraq now assumes full responsibility for its security and that the Coalition mission’s end does not end Iraq’s fight against terrorism, INA reported.

• Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said CENTCOM was welcoming Bahrain to Task Force Falcon Strike after the kingdom affirmed its commitment to join the unit.

• The Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs said on September 28 that the U.S. withdrawal from the Kurdistan Region would not come with an alternative air-defense system and that Baghdad is primarily responsible for protecting the Region’s airspace.

Official Levels

• U.S. Department of State: Level 4, Do Not Travel, for Iraq, citing terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, crime, health risks, and limited emergency services. The Iraq destination page in force through September 30 still carried that level. The advisory record on the Department’s travel-advisory list is dated March 2. U.S. Mission Iraq’s most recent published security alert on the embassy site was dated September 19 and was not revised on September 30.

• U.S. Department of State: Level 3, Reconsider Travel, for Jordan, dated May 4 on the Department’s travel-advisory list.

Force Posture After the Last Iraq Hub Closes

The posture that remains is a Jordan-based Combined Joint Task Force, a continuing Syria counter-ISIS mission, a bilateral training and intelligence channel into Iraq, and a separate SOCCENT-led attack-drone task force that Bahrain has now joined.

CENTCOM said regional U.S. and Coalition forces will remain ready to respond to ISIS threats. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said ISIS must not be allowed to reconstitute from Iraqi territory.

The April-June Inspector General report is the most recent official public baseline for how thin the U.S. ground network had already become before September 30.

U.S. forces had left al Asad Air Base in Anbar in an earlier quarter, operated in the spring largely from Erbil, and supported an ordered departure of non-emergency U.S. Mission Iraq personnel in March after attacks on U.S. diplomatic sites.

No Department of War or CENTCOM figure published on September 30 gave the number of U.S. personnel remaining in Iraq under embassy, security-cooperation, or Title 22 arrangements after the Erbil combat hub closed.

One alternative reading of the same evidence is that September 30 is an administrative label on a drawdown that had already moved the real command work to Jordan and that the security outcome in Iraq will be decided by remnant tempo and militia compliance, not by the ceremony.

That reading would be strengthened if Iraqi or Inspector General reporting in the next quarter showed remnant attacks holding at the pre-departure rate, and weakened if Iraqi forces published a sustained drop in attacks without requesting a return of Coalition combat units.

The Peshmerga air-defense warning adds a third test to that reading. If Baghdad fields a named air-defense cover for the Kurdistan Region, the ministry’s September 28 concern is answered. If it does not, the close-out will have removed a Coalition hub without replacing the protective layer the ministry said was missing.

• If remnant attacks rise inside Iraq and Baghdad requests renewed Coalition combat support, the bilateral channel would be tested against the September 30 claim that Iraqi forces can manage threats alone.

• If Bahrain’s accession is followed by other named partners and by announced multi-domain drills, Falcon Strike would move from an invitation framework to a standing combined unit.

• If Jordan names the host installation and the authorities for CJTF-OIR, the headquarters shift would become a fully public basing fact rather than a one-sentence CENTCOM line.

Official Statements

• Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander, U.S. Central Command, September 30: “Job well done to the tens of thousands of American service members, diplomats, and civilian personnel who answered the call in Iraq. Because of your grit, sacrifice and professionalism, ISIS no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq’s national security and Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, now possess the capacity, leadership, and operational independence to unilaterally manage threats to their homeland.”

• Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander, U.S. Central Command, September 30: “As we step back and hand full primary responsibility for Iraq’s security to the Government of Iraq and the brave people of Iraq, U.S. and Coalition forces stationed across the region will remain ready to respond to any ISIS threats that arise. Maintaining our vigilance and readiness is essential to protecting the U.S. homeland and strengthening regional security.”

• Sean Parnell, Chief Pentagon Spokesman, U.S. Department of War, September 30: “Today, the United States and our Coalition partners formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, consistent with the September 2024 U.S.-Iraq joint statement and U.S. national interests. The orderly departure of Coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base marks the successful conclusion of the military mission that defeated ISIS in Iraq.”

• Sean Parnell, Chief Pentagon Spokesman, U.S. Department of War, September 30: “We expect the Iraqi Security Forces, including the Peshmerga and other security forces in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, to lead the continuing effort to secure Iraq and keep ISIS remnants suppressed. The Department of War will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to our Iraqi partners. The primary responsibility for addressing Iraq’s remaining security challenges, including ISIS remnants and Iran-aligned militias that undermine Iraqi sovereignty and regional stability, now rests with the Government of Iraq.”

• Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi, Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, September 30 (English rendering via INA): “The conclusion of the Global Coalition’s mission does not mean the end of our battle against terrorism. Rather, it marks Iraq’s transition to a phase in which it assumes full responsibility for its security and stability.”

• Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi, Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, September 30 (English rendering via INA): “There shall be no weapons outside the framework of the law and no force outside state institutions, in accordance with the Constitution, the guidance of our esteemed religious authority, and the will of our people.”

• Kevin Lambert, Commander of the International Coalition in Iraq, September 30 (English rendering via INA): “The completion of the Coalition’s orderly withdrawal from Erbil is the final base in Iraq, marking the successful conclusion of the mission. The time has come for Iraq to take the initiative.”

• Mohammed Al-Halbousi, Head of the Taqaddum Party, September 30 (English rendering via INA): “Full sovereignty requires continued efforts to confine arms to state control, ensure the state holds exclusive authority over decisions regarding war and peace, and strengthen the authority of constitutional institutions.”

• Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, September 30: “Today, I am pleased to announce, that the last American Forces are leaving Iraq! [...] We came to fight a caliphate. There is no longer a caliphate. We are going home!”

• Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander, U.S. Central Command, September 30: “We’re excited to welcome Bahrain to Task Force Falcon Strike after the kingdom affirmed its commitment to join CENTCOM in building the world’s first multinational attack drone unit. Bahrain is a steadfast partner in strengthening regional security and stability.”

• Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, Kurdistan Regional Government, September 28: “U.S. withdrawal will not be accompanied by the establishment of an alternative air defence system, which is deeply concerning. [...] We reiterate that the KR’s airspace is part of Iraq’s national airspace and remind the GoI that it is primarily responsible for providing future protection from aerial threats.”

• Sabah Al-Numan, Spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, September 28 (via INA): “U.S. and International Coalition forces will complete their withdrawal from Iraq on September 30,” and “there are no foreign military forces or bases on Iraqi territory.”

• Sabah Al-Numan, Spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, September 19 (via INA): “September 30th marks a strategic turning point in the history of the military and security establishment, embodying the practical transition toward full self-reliance and the management of Iraq’s security landscape by national hands.”

• Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander, U.S. Central Command, August 13: “Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on Scorpion Strike’s success given the tremendous innovation happening among our regional allies and partners. Integrating and deploying our new capabilities together will help us rapidly realize the new possibilities that are on the horizon.”