Iraq is expecting to begin 2026 by having US forces leave the Ain al-Assad base. The United States has had an important presence at the base for many years. During the war on ISIS, the US led a coalition of countries to assist Iraq in fighting the terrorist group. US forces established themselves at a number of facilities in Iraq, of which Assad airbase is the largest and most important.
The US also had forces at Camp Taji, as well as in Baghdad and other places. However, Iranian-backed militias began attacking US forces in 2019. This led the US to respond with a drone attack, killing IRGC Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani and Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in January 2020.
After those strikes, there were increasing calls by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq to have the US leave. It therefore shifted its forces to the autonomous Kurdistan region and left most of the facilities where its forces had operated. The Assad base was one place that remained. Iran targeted the base with ballistic missiles in 2020 in response to the killing of Soleimani.
According to Kurdish media group Rudaw, the “Iraqi army announced on Wednesday that the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State group will hand over the strategic Ain al-Assad airbase in western Iraq to the country’s security forces next week.”
Coalition ends mission in Iraq
Iraq’s Lieutenant General Qais al-Muhammadawi said, “The coalition’s mission has ended, and the focus has shifted toward concluding bilateral international memoranda and understandings, whether with the United States or with France, Britain, and Italy at present.”
Muhammadawi is the Deputy Commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command (JOC). “This work was agreed upon three months ago and has now been concluded at the Joint Operations Command. There are no coalition personnel remaining at the Assad base, and next week will witness a complete withdrawal and the handover of the base to Iraqi forces. A timetable is being set to complete all these matters,” he added, according to Rudaw.
Iraq is still preparing to appoint a new prime minister. United States envoy to Iraq Mark Savaya put up a post for the new year predicting that Iranian-backed militias would be removed from Iraq.
“Information obtained by Rudaw from the JOC at the time revealed that nearly 1,500 American and coalition personnel are currently in the Kurdistan Region, representing seven countries – primarily the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy,” Rudaw said.
“ISIS has lost its ability to plan, operate, control territory, or impact security. In 2025, only four ineffective attacks were recorded, compared to 42 in 2024. These were desperate attempts to prove existence,” Muhammadawi said on Wednesday.
The withdrawal is being closely watched in Turkey and Iran. Regional media are covering this with interest. Iran’s state media Press TV covered the news, as did the pro-government media in Turkey. They would likely prefer that the American role be reduced, for various reasons. US forces are expected to remain in the Kurdistan Region where there is a large, new American Consulate.
Iraq is expected to remain in the spotlight even as US forces may redeploy from Assad to northern Iraq. Recently, the Kurdish Iranian dissident group PDKI says its backs protests in Iran against the regime.