The United States has quietly completed its withdrawal from al-Asad air base in Iraq’s Anbar Province, the Iraq Defense Ministry said Saturday, bringing to a close more than two decades of American military presence in the western part of the country.
Iraqi Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah oversaw the transfer of responsibilities at the base, according to the Defense Ministry.
U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the handover.
The drawdown follows an agreement reached in September 2024 between Washington and Baghdad to shutter the U.S.-led military coalition that had long served as a bulwark against the Islamic State.
The two sides initially set a target for completion by the end of September 2025, but a small contingent of roughly 250 to 350 American military advisers remained at the base in response to developments in neighboring Syria.
President Donald Trump and his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa, held a phone call on Monday to discuss “developments in the situation in Syria” and affirmed “support for its unity and the fight against terrorism,” Damascus said in a post on X. The two leaders also agreed to continue cooperation to combat ISIS.
CENTCOM underscored its collaboration with Syria in its ongoing campaign against the Islamic State.
“We welcome ongoing efforts by all parties in Syria to prevent escalation and pursue resolution through dialogue,” CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement on Saturday. “Aggressively pursuing ISIS and relentlessly applying military pressure requires teamwork among Syrian partners in coordination with U.S. and coalition forces.
“A Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors is essential to peace and stability across the region.”
The U.S. — alongside partner forces — has over the past month conducted a series of “large-scale” strikes against ISIS targets throughout Syria as part of “Operation Hawkeye State.”
Defense Pete Hegseth said the operation was launched as a “declaration of vengeance” in direct response to the deadly ISIS attack on two American soldiers and one U.S. civilian interpreter in Palmyra on Dec. 13.
U.S. troop levels in Iraq reached a peak of about 169,000 in August 2007, a Government Accountability Office report stated. Since the end of the American combat mission in the country in December 2021, approximately 2,500 U.S. forces were stationed in different installations across Iraq.
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.
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