US President, Donald Trump has described the withdrawal of the last American troops from Iraq as a victory for the United States, for Iraq and over the Islamic State group (ISIS), as Washington formally ended its 12-year military mission in the country.

The Pentagon confirmed that US forces and equipment had completed an orderly departure from Erbil Air Base in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, the last site where American troops were stationed.

Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell said the exit reflects the success of a campaign that defeated ISIS as an organised military threat in Iraq and across the region.

The pullout was carried out under a deal between Baghdad and Washington that was agreed two years ago, and it meets a September 30 deadline.

Most US troops had already left Iraqi bases last year, leaving a small presence of hundreds in the Kurdish north.

Announcing the development on Truth Social, Trump said the last American forces were leaving Iraq and that the day marked the end of Operation Inherent Resolve, the mission against ISIS.

He said the group had been “completely decimated” during his first term and declared that there is no longer a caliphate, adding that American forces were going home. Repeating the claim at a White House event marking Hispanic Heritage Month, he said he took ISIS out in his first administration.

The president used the moment to contrast the exit with the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, where he said much military equipment was left behind and 13 service members were killed. He said he has gotten to know the families of those killed, along with the 48 wounded, adding that they never get mentioned. Describing the Iraq exit as orderly, he said it marks the end of “a very expensive excursion into Hell,” and he blamed poor decision-making for drawing the US into what he called a quagmire.

He also praised Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, saying he hopes he will be able to handle things well.

Al-Zaidi presided over the handover ceremony and described the withdrawal as the start of a new phase defined by Iraq’s sovereignty, the strength of its institutions and balanced partnerships.

The US military has said it will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to Iraqi partners.

The development was celebrated by Iran-backed groups in Iraq, while some Iraqis, particularly in the Kurdish region, fear a resurgence of ISIS and more attacks by Iran-linked factions, who may be emboldened by the departure of American troops.

The withdrawal also comes as the US-Israel war on Iran nears its seventh month. The conflict has occasionally spilled into Iraq, with Iran-backed militias firing on US troops and the US striking their strongholds, and critics have compared the war’s undefined mission to that of the 2003 Iraq invasion.

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