Iraq and US-led International Coalition agree on troop withdrawal by September 2025

BAGHDAD / ARBA’ILO, Kurdistan Region of Iraq — The Iraqi government and the US-led International Coalition reached an agreement on the withdrawal of Coalition forces from Iraq by September 2025.

In an interview with Al-Arabiya, Hussein Allawi, advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, announced that Coalition forces will withdraw from Baghdad and reposition toward the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) by September.

He clarified that military trainers will remain in Iraq, as their presence is not directly tied to the Coalition’s withdrawal. Allawi stressed that the drawdown will not affect the country’s stability, noting that Iraq’s combat readiness is strong and that security forces are fully capable of confronting terrorism.

مستشار رئيس الوزراء العراقي حسين علاوي لـ “#الحدث“: انسحاب التحالف الدولي في سبتمبر لن يؤثر على الاستقرار الأمني.. وجاهزيتنا عالية للحفاظ على تلك الحالة#قناة_الحدث pic.twitter.com/sGVPMfd7xq

— ا لـحـدث (@AlHadath) August 17, 2025

He also highlighted ongoing coordination between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on matters of border control, tracking terrorist movements, combating drug smuggling, and addressing other national security threats.

Allawi’s statements coincided with reports that the Coalition has begun transferring military equipment and weapons from Ain al-Asad Air Base, one of its most critical facilities in Iraq.

Currently, the US maintains around 2,500 troops in Iraq and another 900 in North and East Syria. These forces have played a central role in defeating the Islamic State (ISIS), working alongside the Iraqi Army, the Peshmerga in the Kurdistan Region, and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria.

The central question remains: Will the Coalition’s departure create space for ISIS to regroup and expand, or has the Iraqi Army demonstrated sufficient strength to secure borders, maintain stability, and cut off terrorist networks? This issue is especially pressing given ISIS’s growing activity in parts of Syria, where the group continues to exploit security vacuums left in the wake of state collapse.