After 10 years, the military coalition of countries working to defeat ISIS in Iraq is coming to an end.
The American and Iraqi governments announced Friday a phasing down of Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve, a U.S.-led military operation to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Previewed for months after U.S. President Joe Biden met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani in April, the decision will close the task force by 2026. The U.S., which has 2,500 troops in Iraq, will then negotiate directly with the government in Baghdad on its military presence inside the country.
Since the war started in Gaza last October, American military personnel around the Middle East have been increasingly under threat. Militia groups sponsored by Iran have targeted U.S. ships and bases, including a strike that killed three troops just across the Syrian border in Jordan this January. The attacks, along with America’s support for Israel, have continued to shift America’s military footprint in the region.
There are now 40,000 U.S. personnel in Central Command, 6,000 higher than normal.
In a call previewing the announcement with reporters, a senior U.S. administration and defense official wouldn’t comment on how many troops would remain in Iraq or where they would operate — other than to say there would not be a full withdrawal.
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“It’s time to do that transition. But that doesn’t mean every detail has been worked out,” the defense official said.
The task force itself will end in two phases. The first will arrive next September, when the coalition’s military mission inside Iraq will close. Because ISIS remains a threat nearby, the officials said, Iraq will allow the coalition to keep using its territory for missions across the border into Syria at least until September 2026.
Launched in 2014, when the Islamic State seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, the task force includes more than 30 countries and eventually secured 42,000 square miles once controlled by ISIS, the defense official said. The terrorist group lost its ability to hold territory in Iraq in 2017, and in Syria two years later.
Ending the international mission now, the official continued, reflects two changes: a weakened ISIS and an empowered Iraqi military. The coalition has given local security forces more than $4 billion in military equipment and trained around 225,000 personnel.
America has also supported the Iraqi military directly. This week, the U.S. State Department approved a $65 million foreign military sale to Iraq for ship repair and maintenance.
“During these past years, we’ve seen very significant improvement in the Iraqi Security Force’s capability,” the defense official said.
In late August, U.S. and Iraqi forces conducted an operation in western Iraq that killed 14 ISIS operatives, including four leaders, as announced by CENTCOM. Seven American personnel were injured in the raid.
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.
