US forces leave Iraq more than two decades after 2003 invasion

The United States is bringing its military presence in Iraq to an end more than two decades after American forces invaded the country and toppled Saddam Hussein’s government.

The remaining US forces are due to leave their last bases by Wednesday, September 30, completing a withdrawal agreed between Washington and Baghdad in 2024.

It closes a military chapter that began in March 2003.

US-led forces invaded Iraq to remove Saddam from power, beginning a war and occupation that would continue for years as American troops fought an armed insurgency across the country.

Around 4,500 Americans died during more than two decades of US military involvement in Iraq. American forces initially left the country at the end of 2011.

Their absence didn't last long. Less than three years later, US troops returned after Islamic State swept across large parts of Iraq and Syria, capturing Mosul and declaring its self-styled caliphate.

This time, the American mission looked different and the US forces worked alongside Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga, providing training, intelligence, air support and other assistance as ISIS was pushed out of the territory it controlled.

The group's territorial rule in Iraq was eventually defeated, although its remaining cells continued to operate.

The US-led coalition presence was gradually reduced in the years that followed.

The final withdrawal was agreed under former President Joe Biden in 2024 and is now being completed under President Donald Trump.

Iraqi forces will take over responsibility previously handled with coalition support as the remaining personnel and equipment leave.