(WBAP/KLIF) — Fox News — The U.S. military will withdraw its last troops from Iraq by Sept. 30, officials confirmed Wednesday, ending a presence that began with the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had met Wednesday with CENTCOM’s Adm. Brad Cooper and reaffirmed the “fixed and final date” for ending the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS military mission in Iraq and completing the departure of coalition forces, the prime minister’s office said in a statement shared on X.
The prime minister also stated that Oct. 1 would mark a new day in the “trajectory of the Iraqi state, as Iraq will be free of any foreign military presence, will exercise full national sovereignty over its territory, and will continue building its security and military capabilities, enabling it to protect its security and stability on its own.”
In July, a soldier was killed during the detonation of an Iranian drone and six others were killed in March when a refueling aircraft came down in the region.
Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to end the U.S.-led coalition’s operations against ISIS as Iraqi forces took more responsibility for the nation’s security.
The statement also said the two sides “stressed that Iraqi-U.S. relations will transition toward cooperation and partnership in the economic, development, and security fields, based on mutual respect for sovereignty and the mutual interests of both countries.”
(Copyright 2026 WBAP/KLIF Newsroom News. All rights reserved. Contains material from Fox News.)
