US to Withdraw All Troops from Baghdad Tomorrow, Iraqi Military Source Confirmed to Kurdistan24

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The United States will complete the withdrawal of all its troops and personnel from Baghdad tomorrow, a senior Iraqi military source revealed exclusively to Kurdistan24 on Thursday. 

The source explained that over the past five days, a large portion of American forces had already been pulled out of Ain al-Asad and Victoria bases, and that the final evacuation will include three key Baghdad sites: the Green Zone, Victoria Base, and the Joint Operations Command headquarters, all of which will be formally handed over to Iraqi forces.

According to the official, what remains in Baghdad at present are only military vehicles, equipment, and logistical supplies belonging to US forces. These, along with the last soldiers and staff, are being transported out overnight and will be fully removed by tomorrow morning. Within the framework of the International Coalition against ISIS, the source noted that only about twenty percent of the coalition forces currently in Baghdad are American, while the majority are French and Romanian troops.

The official clarified to Kurdistan24, that parts of the departing American forces will be redeployed to Erbil, while others will be transferred to Anbar Province before being moved into northeastern Syria (Western Kurdistan), where US troops continue to maintain bases alongside their coalition partners.

This latest development represents a major milestone in the trajectory of US involvement in Iraq over the past two decades. In 2003, Washington deployed nearly 130,000 troops to the country to overthrow the dictator Saddam Hussein, with numbers fluctuating between 100,000 and 150,000 during the first years. By 2007, amid the height of sectarian violence, troop levels surged to around 170,000. At the end of 2011, under President Barack Obama, the United States formally ended its combat presence in Iraq, maintaining only a limited number of advisors. However, the rise of the Islamic State in 2014 prompted Washington to send more than 5,000 troops back into the country to lead an international coalition against the extremist group.

In subsequent years, US forces were gradually reduced again, falling to around 3,000 in 2021 and approximately 2,500 in 2023 under pressure from the Iraqi parliament. By 2024, the remaining American contingent in Iraq numbered roughly 2,500, all operating within the coalition structure. In September of that year, Iraqi Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi announced that US forces would leave the country by 2026. At the same time Reuters published a report about an agreement between Washington and Baghdad outlining a phased withdrawal of coalition forces to take place during 2025 and 2026, with hundreds of troops set to depart by September 2025 and the remainder by the end of 2026.

The withdrawal from Baghdad scheduled for tomorrow is therefore viewed as a crucial step in that broader timetable, signaling a new phase in the security relationship between Iraq and the United States. While American forces will continue to operate in the Kurdistan Region and Western Kurdistan, their departure from the Iraqi capital highlights Washington’s gradual disengagement from direct military operations in central Iraq and the transfer of security responsibilities to Iraqi institutions.