SRINAGAR: The United States has completed the withdrawal of its forces from their remaining bases in Iraq, ending a military presence that began more than two decades ago and prompting concerns over the growing influence of Iran-backed groups and the possibility of an Islamic State resurgence.
The pullout, carried out on Wednesday, was agreed in 2024 under then-President Joe Biden and implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration amid the ongoing US conflict with Iran. Around 4,500 Americans were killed during more than two decades of US military involvement in Iraq.
Iran and allied armed groups have welcomed the withdrawal. Iraqi security analyst Jasim al-Bahadli, who studies Shi’ite armed groups aligned with Tehran, said the departure removes a US-led military presence that had served as a counterweight to Iranian influence in Iraq.
He said Iran-backed militias could seek to use the development to expand their role in security and political affairs.
Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, a commander with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, called the withdrawal a “historic victory” for Iran-backed resistance groups and said September 30 would mark what he described as the end of the US occupation.
The development has also caused concern among some Iraqis over the country’s ability to assume full responsibility for security. Abdulrahman al-Zobaie, a Sunni tribal leader from Fallujah, said Iraqis supported full sovereignty but feared that the departure could result in a security vacuum.
The US invaded Iraq in 2003, overthrowing Saddam Hussein and beginning a prolonged period of occupation and counterinsurgency. American troops withdrew in 2011 but returned less than three years later to assist Iraqi forces in their fight against Islamic State, which lost its territorial control between 2014 and 2017.
The US presence later became a major source of tension between Washington and Tehran. American forces killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a strike near Baghdad airport in 2020, following which Iran-backed groups carried out repeated attacks on US positions and the United States launched retaliatory strikes.
Of the 18 US service members listed as killed during this year’s conflict with Iran, seven died in Iraq, according to the source material. The most recent was an Army sergeant killed in July while attempting to destroy a drone at a base near Erbil.
Iranian officials have described the US withdrawal as a positive development. Amir Hayat Moqaddam, deputy chairman of Iran’s parliamentary National Security Commission, said lasting security would prevail in Iraq after the departure of American forces.
The end of the US military presence has also renewed concerns about Islamic State, which Iraqi and Kurdish officials say continues to maintain sleeper cells despite losing its territorial strongholds.
Kurdish commander Sirwan Barzani said the reduction in US intelligence, logistical assistance and drone capabilities could provide the group with an opportunity to reorganise.
Iraqi security forces have separately said that a suspected Islamic State cell was preparing suicide attacks to coincide with the US withdrawal. Colonel Khalid al-Bayati, a senior security official in Kirkuk, said the group wanted to demonstrate that it remained capable of carrying out deadly attacks.
