The Pentagon said on Tuesday it is scaling back the U.S. military mission in Iraq, a shift that will see Baghdad take the lead in countering remnants of the Islamic State on its own soil.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the coalition’s efforts will now concentrate on combating Islamic State fighters in neighboring Syria, with most American personnel relocated to Iraq’s Kurdistan region, primarily around Erbil, to support that mission.
The United States had around 2,500 troops in Iraq at the start of 2025 and more than 900 in Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to fight the extremist group.
Under the new plan, U.S. forces in Iraq will be reduced to fewer than 2,000, though an exact number and timeline have yet to be finalized. Troops remaining in Baghdad will focus on broader bilateral security cooperation rather than counterterrorism operations.
“ISIS is no longer posing a sustained threat to the government of Iraq or to the U.S. homeland from Iraqi territory. This is a major achievement that enables us to transition more responsibly to Iraq leading efforts for security in their own country,” a senior defense official said.
The move is seen as a political boost for Baghdad, which has long argued that the U.S. troop presence fuels instability, particularly amid frequent attacks by Iran-aligned militias.
Washington last year agreed to hand over the Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province to Iraqi control, though that transition remains incomplete.
While the drawdown in Iraq advances, U.S. officials stressed that the situation in Syria remains fragile. Islamic State fighters continue to operate in parts of the country, and thousands of militants held in prisons pose a potential security risk if released.
Syria has been in political upheaval since rebel forces led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander, toppled Bashar al-Assad’s government last year.
U.S. President Donald Trump met Sharaa in Riyadh in May. Regional leaders and Western allies have since warned that Islamic State could exploit the instability to attempt a resurgence.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
