ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US-led coalition forces have begun departing the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq’s Anbar province, an informed source told The New Region on Wednesday, with the Iraqi army set to take over the base. 

The Iraqi army announced in late December that US-led forces would depart Ain al-Asad and “hand it over to the Iraqi sectors” within a week, as part of a deal between Washington and Baghdad to wind down the US-led coalition’s military presence in the country. 

An informed security source told The New Region that “American forces have moved the majority of their equipment and began dismantling their headquarters” at the base, with “devices, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems moved towards the al-Tanf base in Syria.” 

“The soldiers and parts of the air defense system of the US forces have remained, and their withdrawal will continue during the coming days,” the source said. 

The US and Iraq in September 2024 announced that they had reached an agreement to wrap up the US-led coalition’s military presence in the country by “no later than the end of September 2025.” 

In early October, the US Defense Department described the reduction of American troop presence in Iraq as a reflection of their “combined success” in fighting the Islamic State (ISIS).

Abdullah al-Jughaifi, an advisor to Anbar’s Provincial Council, told The New Region that the American presence at Ain al-Asad “is currently limited, and therefore there will be no impact or vacuum after their withdrawal.” 

US forces are set to remain in the Kurdistan Region until September 2026, according to the agreement. Peshmerga forces, which significantly contributed to defeating ISIS, have been receiving military support from multiple countries that are members of the US-led coalition.

In August, a US defense official told The New Region that Washington “will continue a bilateral security cooperation relationship with Iraq” after the departure of US military forces. 

Approximately 2,400 American military personnel are deployed in Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi government, to support the fight against ISIS.