Iraq marks full US troop withdrawal and begins security rebalancing

Iraq has marked the departure of the remaining US troops from the country, opening a new phase in its security policy and relations with Washington. The government is holding four "Sovereignty Days" to commemorate what it describes as the complete withdrawal of foreign forces. The move follows the end of a coalition mission that began in 2015 to support operations against ISIS.

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The withdrawal deadline on Wednesday was said to cover the last few hundred US soldiers still in Iraq, who had been serving in advisory roles. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has linked the exit to a broader effort to restore state authority and reduce the role of armed groups outside government control. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly last week, he said Iraq wanted the state to be the "ultimate decision-maker" on peace and war and that weapons should remain in the hands of constitutional institutions.

The government has also said it wants to accelerate efforts to disarm militias by June 2027. That includes several powerful pro-Iran groups that have carried out attacks across the region during the wider conflict involving Iran and Israel. Some of those groups have already signalled they may refuse to surrender their weapons, underlining the political difficulty of the plan.

The withdrawal therefore does not end Iraq's security challenges, but shifts them into a more domestic and politically sensitive phase. The change matters because the US military presence has long been one of the main arguments used by armed factions to justify keeping their own weapons and command structures. With that rationale weakened, Baghdad is trying to build a case that the state should hold a monopoly over force.

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At the same time, the departure may create space for Iran to expand its influence, while also testing whether the Iraqi government can manage rival armed actors without direct foreign military backing. The coalition mission first launched in 2015 after ISIS seized large areas of Iraq and Syria, and the US role in Iraq has remained politically contentious ever since. For Iraqi leaders, the end of the mission is being presented not only as a security milestone but also as a symbolic step after more than two decades of foreign intervention.

The "Sovereignty Days" observance is intended to reinforce that message and frame the withdrawal as a national achievement. Ali al-Zaidi has said the relationship with Washington should now move from military cooperation to economic and development cooperation. That shift suggests Baghdad wants to preserve strategic ties while reducing the visibility of foreign troops on its soil.

It also reflects a wider balancing act, as Iraq seeks to avoid becoming a battleground for regional rivalries while maintaining internal stability. What remains unclear is how quickly the government can translate the withdrawal into real control over armed groups, and whether militias will comply with the disarmament timetable. It is also not yet clear how the end of the coalition mission will affect Iraq's security coordination against any remaining ISIS threat.

The next phase will be judged by whether Baghdad can strengthen state institutions without triggering a new confrontation with powerful factions.