US troops likely to remain in Iraq after coalition ends

Timeline for withdrawal still being finalised

Mosul's Al Nuri mosque was destroyed in the war against ISIS but is currently undergoing restoration work. AFP

The US is likely to maintain significant military capabilities to fight extremists in Iraq after the anti-ISIS coalition wraps up in the coming years, an American official said on Friday.

Speaking after it was reported that US-led coalition forces would leave Iraq by the end of 2026, the official said their departure “doesn't necessarily change” the military's ability to go after ISIS.

“I would be extremely surprised if they pulled all US presence out,” the official told The National. Baghdad and Washington agreed in late July on a two-year plan to end the coalition's mission in Iraq, which was brought in to fight ISIS a decade ago.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani is under political pressure to end the US troop presence in Iraq, which is seen by critics as antagonistic to Iran-backed groups in the region. Both sides were set to announce the deal in August but it was postponed after an attack on US troops at Ain Al Asad airbase in western Iraq.

Reuters reported on Friday that under the plan hundreds of troops would leave the country by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026. The US official cautioned that timelines could change and nothing has been finalised.

There are about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighbouring Syria as part of the anti-ISIS coalition formed in 2014, as the extremist group seized about one third of the two countries. ISIS was territorially defeated in Iraq at the end of 2017 and in Syria in 2019, but thousands of fighters remain scattered across the region and continue to plot and conduct attacks.