US troops leave last Iraq air base as 12-year mission ends

Withdrawal marks the shift from a US-led coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort.

Baghdad: The US military announced on Wednesday, September 30, that it has completed the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that U.S. troops and equipment had completed an “orderly departure” from the last air base where they had been present in northern Iraq.

“This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region,” he said. “It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.”