The United States has begun withdrawing its forces from the Victory Base Complex (VBC) located at Baghdad International Airport, marking a significant step in Washington’s ongoing drawdown of troops from Western and Central Iraq.
According to Iraqi media, the American Embassy in Baghdad issued an order on Sunday to commence the withdrawal from both the VBC and the Ain al-Assad Airbase in Anbar Province, one of the largest U.S. military installations in western Iraq. However, local observers reported that convoys of American troops and equipment had already been seen departing Ain al-Assad last week, heading toward the Syrian border.
This withdrawal is part of a bilateral agreement reached in July 2024 between Washington and Baghdad, which outlines the complete removal of U.S. forces from all bases in Iraq by September 2025, with the exception of the base in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region. The Erbil base is set to remain operational until September 2026.
While some American personnel have been relocated to Erbil, Iraqi reports indicate that the majority of U.S. forces and their equipment have left Iraq altogether. This development suggests that Washington may not intend to transfer a significant portion of its military presence to Kurdistan, instead opting to reduce its footprint in Iraq ahead of next year’s scheduled full withdrawal.
According to Iraqi media citing U.S. diplomatic sources, the withdrawal from both Ain al-Assad and the VBC is expected to be completed within days, effectively ending nearly two decades of American presence at these sites—interrupted only briefly between 2011 and 2014. U.S. forces redeployed to Iraq in 2014 following the rise of ISIS, which at its peak controlled over one-third of the country.
The departure is seen as a political victory for Iranian-aligned factions within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which have frequently attacked U.S. positions in Iraq and Syria since the Gaza conflict erupted in 2023, demanding an American withdrawal. It also fulfills a long-standing campaign promise by President Donald Trump to end what he has called “endless wars” in the Middle East, with the removal of U.S. troops from Iraq being a central objective since he entered politics in 2015.