US to complete withdrawal from Ain al-Assad base in September
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The last American soldier will leave Ain al-Assad airbase in western Al-Anbar province on September 15, an Iraqi security source said on Tuesday.
The source added that a small number of US personnel, including senior officers, will stay in Baghdad as part of joint forces when required.
The withdrawal began on Monday with the departure of the first convoy from Ain al-Assad toward Syria. The column included trucks carrying military vehicles, according to another security source.
Ain al-Assad is Iraq’s second-largest airbase after Balad, serving as the headquarters of the US Army’s 7th Division. It lies about 10 kilometers from the town of al-Baghdadi in Al-Anbar province.
Earlier, a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Baghdad told Shafaq News that the coalition will shift from a military mission in Iraq to a more traditional bilateral security partnership, emphasizing that coalition activities would continue under civilian leadership at the global level.
A government source told Shafaq News that Baghdad and coalition members, led by the United States, agreed on a timeline ending coalition operations in September 2025, leading to a full withdrawal in September 2026. By then, fewer than 500 troops will remain in Erbil, while others will move to Kuwait.
