The US-led international coalition against ISIS will withdraw from Iraq next month, marking a shift towards bilateral security relations, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani told state media on Sunday.
Hussein Allawi told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that the government aims to strengthen the Iraqi armed forces, end the coalition's mission, and build stable security ties with other countries, supported by wider political, economic, and cultural cooperation.
He said the agreement means foreign forces will leave both Baghdad and Ain al-Asad in September 2025, with a second phase finishing in September 2026. The new partnership will focus on advising and training Iraqi forces.
"This approach reflects the government's vision for a sustainable relationship across all sectors, including security, implemented through a structured framework that began with the Supreme Military Committee reviewing the coalition mission," he said.
Sabah al-Numan, a military spokesperson for the prime minister, also told INA that the coalition’s withdrawal shows Iraq is becoming more able to fight terrorism on its own.
Al-Numan said this decision comes after ongoing political efforts and the prime minister's push to end the coalition’s mission. He pointed to similar steps taken with the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq.
Earlier, INA reported that the US Embassy in Baghdad issued a statement stating the coalition’s military mission will transition to a bilateral security partnership; however, The New Arab could not independently verify this statement.
"This is not the end of the coalition's work to defeat ISIS," the embassy said. "It will continue its civilian-led efforts globally. The military mission in Iraq will move to a more traditional bilateral security partnership, with operational details transferred to the Iraqi Ministry of Defence."
TNA contacted The Global Coalition and the US Department of Defence, but did not receive a reply by the time of publishing this report.
There are around 2,500 US troops in Iraq, primarily tasked with training and advising Iraqi forces fighting remnants of the Islamic State group. They are based at Al-Asad Airbase in Anbar province, Camp Victory in Baghdad, and at Harir Airbase, near Erbil.
Following Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023, Iran-backed militias describing themselves as "the Islamic resistance in Iraq" have claimed responsibility for targeting US bases in Iraq and Syria.
Harakat al-Nujaba, one of Iraq's most prominent Iran-aligned armed groups, said it will not hand over its weapons even if US forces withdraw, responding to reports that Washington is preparing to pull hundreds of troops.
On Monday, the group's senior leader, Mehdi al-Kaabi, told a local media outlet, "The resistance's weapons will not be handed over, neither in Lebanon nor in Iraq," adding that "the weapons of the Iraqi factions will remain even if the Americans withdraw from Iraq."
Al-Kaabi cited plans to target Iraq "at any moment" and suggested that "the Iraqi factions could be next after Lebanon's Hezbollah," referring to discussions about Hezbollah handing over its weapons to the Lebanese government.
He also said that "concerns after the withdrawal of the international coalition are legitimate," adding, "We know America's spies in Iraq, and we know what will happen in the end. America fears the Popular Mobilisation and the factions."
Although the Iraqi government is considering the withdrawal an achievement for PM Sudani, who is running for a second term in the upcoming November parliamentary elections, political observers caution that any real withdrawal by the coalition increases the possibility of joint US-Israeli airstrikes on the Iran-backed militias.
Observers also caution that any major security escalation would lead to the postponement of the elections, which would bring Iraq to a constitutional vacuum and political chaos.