U.S. Completes Withdrawal from Al-Asad Air Base

U.S. forces have completed their withdrawal from Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq, handing full control to Iraqi security forces and marking the end of the American military presence in the country's federal territory outside the northern Kurdistan region.

The Iraqi Defense Ministry announced the development on Saturday, stating that Iraqi army units had assumed all responsibilities at the facility in Anbar Governorate. Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah oversaw the transfer, inspecting the base and assigning duties to local units to maximize its strategic capabilities. A ministry official confirmed that all U.S. personnel and equipment had been removed, with the handover proceeding smoothly despite past logistical challenges.

The pullout stems from a 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad to conclude the U.S.-led coalition's mission against the Islamic State group by September 2025. The coalition, formed in 2014, deployed troops to Iraq and Syria to combat the militants after they seized large territories and declared a self-styled caliphate. Iraqi forces defeated ISIS territorially in 2017, though the group persists through sleeper cells and...