US Initiates Sudden Withdrawal from Major Iraqi Bases
US forces began a sudden withdrawal from Ain al-Asad and Victory bases in Iraq, a top official told Kurdistan24. The move appears to accelerate a previously announced timeline for the coalition's exit. Some troops have relocated to Erbil.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – American military forces have initiated a sudden and unannounced withdrawal from the major Ain al-Asad and Victory bases in Iraq, a move that appears to significantly accelerate a previously negotiated timeline for the drawdown of the International Coalition's mission.
According to a high-level source in the Iraqi government, an order for the withdrawal was issued by the American Embassy, with the evacuation process beginning Sunday morning.
The high-level source, providing information to Kurdistan24 correspondent Dilan Barzan, confirmed that the withdrawal of all soldiers from the two strategic sites is being conducted in phases.
A portion of the American forces departed from both the sprawling Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province and the Victory Base Complex (VBC), located within the Baghdad International Airport complex, this morning. The source stated that the two bases are expected to be completely evacuated within the next few days.
The source added that there were approximately two thousand American soldiers stationed at the Ain al-Asad base, a key hub for coalition operations for years, while an additional number of soldiers were present at the Victory Base Complex (VBC).
It was also indicated that a portion of the soldiers who have withdrawn have been transferred to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.
This abrupt military maneuver contrasts sharply with the official timeline articulated by the Iraqi government just one week ago.
On Sunday, August 17, 2025, Hussein Alawi, an advisor to the Prime Minister, told the Iraqi News Agency that Iraq had reached an agreement with the coalition countries to end the mission according to a specified timeline spanning 2025 and 2026.
Specifically, Alawi stated that the agreement would "end the International Coalition's mission at the mission headquarters in Baghdad and the Ain al-Asad base in September 2025," a full month after today's withdrawal began.
In his statement last week, Alawi framed the drawdown as a deliberate and collaborative process. He emphasized that "the Iraqi government is committed to its governmental program by building up the armed forces, ending the mission of the International Coalition, and transitioning the security relationship with them to a stable, bilateral defense relationship."
He said that following the September 2025 drawdown from Baghdad and Ain al-Asad, "a new phase of security cooperation in the field of advisory and capacity building for the Iraqi security forces will begin."
The advisor also underscored that the government's actions demonstrate a commitment to implementing the agreement and transitioning towards a bilateral relationship that would "return the relations of Iraq-US and the International Coalition countries to a normal state."
He noted that this would stabilize relations under the umbrella of existing strategic agreements, such as the strategic framework that exists between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America.
Alawi concluded his remarks by stating that the missions of the International Coalition in Iraq would ultimately come to a complete end in September 2026. Today’s sudden withdrawal from two of the most significant American military footprints in the country raises new questions about the pace and circumstances of this broader strategic realignment.
