Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell announced Wednesday that the United States and its Coalition partners have formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. He called the departure from Erbil Air Base “the successful conclusion of the military mission that defeated ISIS in Iraq.” The statement, issued Sept. 30, 2026, closes the U.S. military’s 12-year campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq. It lands as American forces are also fighting a separate war against Iran.
What Parnell Said
Parnell opened by tying the decision to an earlier agreement between Washington and Baghdad. “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,” he said. The Pentagon described the “orderly departure of Coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base” as the marker of that conclusion.
Parnell framed the moment as the result of a long campaign. “This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region,” he said. He added that it “also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.”
The Full Statement
The Pentagon released the statement in full on Sept. 30, 2026. It reads:
Statement by Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell on the Conclusion of the U.S. Military
Sept. 30, 2026Today, 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.
This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region. It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.
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. The United States remains committed to counterterrorism and will continue to work with Iraq and our partners to ensure ISIS can never reconstitute from Iraqi territory.
The United States supports a strong sovereign Iraq that secures its borders, protects its people, and serves as the foundation for deeper commercial, diplomatic, and security cooperation between our two countries.
Responsibility Shifts to Baghdad and the Peshmerga
The statement names the Peshmerga alongside the Iraqi Security Forces as the units expected to lead the continuing effort against ISIS remnants. Kurdistan 24 called that the most direct American acknowledgment yet of the Kurdistan Region’s central role in Iraq’s post-coalition security. Parnell said the Department of War “will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support” to Iraqi partners.
The statement also places the burden for Iran-aligned militias on the Iraqi government. “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,” Parnell said. He added that the United States “remains committed to counterterrorism” and will work with Iraq and its partners “to ensure ISIS can never reconstitute from Iraqi territory.”
A 12-Year Campaign
The operation traces to August 2014, when the United States launched its first airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq after the group captured Mosul and advanced toward Erbil. The coalition grew to include more than 80 countries and conducted more than 35,000 airstrikes across Iraq and Syria. Reuters reports that American forces first invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein, withdrew at the end of 2011, and returned less than three years later to help Iraqi forces defeat ISIS in a war that ran from 2014 to 2017. At its height, ISIS held a third of Iraq.
The latest withdrawal follows an agreement reached in 2024. Reuters notes that it was agreed under President Joe Biden and carried out by President Donald Trump’s administration, and that about 4,500 Americans died in Iraq over more than two decades of war. Other outlets report that coalition forces began leaving federal Iraq last October as Washington and Baghdad moved toward a bilateral defense relationship. Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve remains active and is now headquartered in Jordan, according to CENTCOM.
Reaction From Baghdad
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi presided over the handover ceremony. He described the withdrawal as the beginning of a new phase defined by Iraq’s sovereignty, the strength of its institutions, and balanced partnerships with its friends. The Iraqi government had originally tied the Sept. 30 date to the disarmament of armed groups outside state control. That goal has since slipped to the end of June 2027, and several powerful Iran-backed factions have rejected disarmament or set conditions Baghdad is unlikely to meet.
Iran and Its Allies Claim a Victory
Iran and its allies cast the departure as their own win. Reuters quotes Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, a commander in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, calling the withdrawal “a historic victory for the Iraqi Islamic resistance groups and honorable Iraqis, and a crushing defeat for the American project.” Amir Hayat Moqaddam, deputy chairman of the National Security Commission of Iran’s Parliament, said Iran “welcomes the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.” Iraqi security analyst Jasim al-Bahadli told Reuters that Iran “stands to benefit strategically” because the coalition’s presence had long acted as a counterweight to Tehran.
Concerns Over ISIS and the Iran War
Some Iraqi officials warn the exit comes too soon. Kurdish commander Sirwan Barzani told Reuters that the loss of U.S. intelligence, logistics, and drones will give ISIS a chance to regroup. He said his forces have noticed sleeper-cell movement for more than two weeks. Iraqi security officials also said a suspected ISIS cell was preparing suicide attacks to coincide with the pullout. Michael Knights of the Washington Institute warned that the Kurds also lose the air defenses that protected U.S. troops near Erbil.
The withdrawal comes during the U.S.-Iran war, which began when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Reuters reports that 7 of the 18 U.S. service members listed as killed in this year’s war died in Iraq. The last was an Army sergeant who died during the controlled detonation of a drone at a base near Erbil in July.