US forces set to leave their last bases in Iraq by Wednesday

Fallujah, Iraq. US forces are set to leave their last bases in Iraq by Wednesday. Iran and its allies are celebrating the departure, while Iraqi security experts warn it could strengthen Iran-backed groups and create an opening for Islamic State.

Concerns over security and influence

The withdrawal was agreed in 2024 under President Joe Biden and is being carried out by President Donald Trump’s administration as it wages war against Iran. Iraqi security analyst Jasim al-Bahadli said the coalition’s departure would remove a military counterweight to Tehran’s influence. He said Iran-aligned militias could use it to seek greater influence over security and political decisions.

Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, a commander in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, called the withdrawal a historic victory for the groups and “honorable Iraqis” and a defeat for what he described as the American project. He told Reuters the groups would celebrate on September 30, saying Iraq’s sovereignty depended on its people rather than foreign forces.

The departure of US forces is broadly popular among Iraqis, but some fear it is premature. Abdulrahman al-Zobaie, a Sunni tribal leader in Fallujah, told Reuters that Iraq was not yet fully ready to assume responsibility for security. He said Iraqis wanted full sovereignty but feared the coalition’s departure could leave a vacuum. Fallujah was once a centre of anti-American resistance.

Two decades of US involvement

US forces invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. They subsequently occupied the country, installed a Shi’ite-led government and fought a years-long counterinsurgency before withdrawing at the end of 2011. About 4,500 Americans died during more than two decades of war in Iraq.