🇺🇸🇮🇶 US ends 12-year Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq
The United States has formally ended its 12-year Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIS in Iraq, closing more than two decades of U.S. military involvement that began in 2003.
The end was marked by the orderly departure of coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base.
ISIS swept Iraq and Syria in summer 2014, seized Mosul and Tikrit, and declared a “caliphate.” In August it trapped Yazidis on Mount Sinjar in what the UN later called a genocide, threatened Erbil, and broadcast beheadings of Western hostages.
Washington launched OIR on August 8, 2014. Airdrops and airstrikes grew into a coalition of more than 80 nations, working “by, with, and through” Iraqi forces, the Peshmerga, and the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The U.S. footprint peaked above 6,000 troops and later settled at about 2,500 trainers, logisticians, and intelligence personnel. Airpower, F-22s, F-15s, F-16s, B-52s, and MQ-9 Reapers, led the campaign. In the 2017 urban battles, U.S. forces dropped record numbers of precision munitions.
Final tally: more than 42,000 square miles liberated, 7.7 million civilians freed, over 225,000 Iraqi and Kurdish personnel trained and equipped, more than $4 billion in gear. An estimated 80,000-plus ISIS militants were killed. 123 U.S. troops died and 499 were wounded.
The territorial caliphate was dismantled. The wartime mission ended on September 30, 2026. The Department of War will keep providing targeted training and intelligence. The Pentagon said Iraq now has primary responsibility for ISIS remnants and Iran-aligned militias.