US-led coalition ends its Iraq mission

The United States and its coalition partners formally ended Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq on September 30, closing a military mission launched in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group. The Pentagon said targeted training and intelligence support for Iraqi partners would continue after the mission’s conclusion. Coalition forces were deployed in Iraq and Syria after Islamic State seized territory across both countries. The group lost its territorial control in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019, but coalition troops remained to target its remnants and assist local security forces. The United States and Iraq agreed in 2024 to wind down the mission, and coalition forces gradually withdrew from bases across Iraq, with their presence later concentrated in the Kurdistan region. The Pentagon said Iraqi security forces, including Kurdish Peshmerga forces, would take the lead in suppressing Islamic State remnants and addressing the country’s security challenges. It did not specify the scale or practical arrangements for the training and intelligence support that will continue. The mission’s conclusion therefore ends the coalition’s military role in Iraq, but not all U.S.