U.S. Forces Withdraw from Iraq’s Ain al-Asad Airbase
A U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook hovers past Soldiers of Golf Company, Task Force CARDINAL on May 10, 2025, at Al-Asad Airbase, Iraq (Photo courtesy US Army).
SOFX and other media outlets report that U.S. troops have fully withdrawn from Ain al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq, with the Iraqi army assuming complete control, according to Iraq’s Defense Ministry. The withdrawal follows a 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad to scale back U.S.-led coalition forces and transition to a bilateral security relationship.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in September that coalition forces are no longer needed because “ISIS has lost its ability to plan, operate, control territory, or threaten security,” with the group carrying out only four attacks in 2025, down from 42 in 2024.
Despite this drawdown, U.S. Central Command conducted a strike in northwest Syria on January 16 that killed Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, an Al-Qaeda affiliate leader with direct ties to an ISIS terrorist responsible for an ambush that killed two U.S. service members and an American interpreter on December 13, 2025.
U.S. forces remain stationed at Harir Air Base in Erbil province within the Kurdistan region, where Iraq’s central government does not exercise full authority.
The post U.S. Forces Withdraw from Iraq’s Ain al-Asad Airbase appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.