Joy mixed with fear as US forces leave Iraq amid potential security vacuum

Iraqis celebrated the departure of US forces after more than two decades of war on Wednesday, though many feared that any security vacuum could increase the power of Iran-backed militias or provide an opening for the return of Islamic State (ISIS). The withdrawal of the final troops ended the biggest US war of the century.

Iraqis celebrated the departure of US forces from Iraq on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, ending a military presence that began with the 2003 invasion and became the largest US war of the century. The withdrawal, agreed in 2024 under former President Joe Biden and carried out under President Donald Trump, removed the final troops mainly from an airbase in Erbil in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region. While the pullout is broadly popular, many Iraqis and analysts expressed concern that a security vacuum could empower Iran-backed militias or provide an opening for Islamic State (ISIS) sleeper cells. Iran views the withdrawal as a triumph for its "axis of resistance." Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi said the end of the coalition mission does not mean the end of the fight against terrorism, but a transition to Iraq assuming full responsibility for its security. More than 4,500 US troops and over 200,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in the conflict. Some Iraqi security officials warned that the pullout risks giving new life to ISIS, which still retains a cell network despite the defeat of its caliphate nearly a decade ago. The last US withdrawal in 2011 was followed by ISIS capturing Mosul in 2014.