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US Moving Forward With Troop Reductions In Iraq

United States Forces Iraq/Creative Commons/Flickr

The U.S. is moving forward with reducing its troop presence in Iraq, rolling back security efforts in the nation to focus on the anti-ISIS mission in Syria.

The move will shift U.S. forces to the Kurdistan region to continue finishing off the Syrian remnants of ISIS, one source told Reuters on Tuesday. American troops have been in Iraq in varying capacities since 2003 after the post-9/11 invasion, while the shift in U.S. forces outside Syria began in earnest in late 2024.

“This reduction reflects our combined success in fighting ISIS and marks an effort to transition to a lasting U.S.-Iraq security partnership in accordance with U.S. national interests, the Iraqi Constitution, and the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement,” Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement. “This partnership will support U.S. and Iraqi security and strengthens Iraq’s ability to realize economic development, foreign investment, and regional leadership.”

Approximately 2,500 U.S. troops in Iraq and around 500 in Syria remained at the start of 2025, according to Reuters. The new withdrawal plan will lower troop presence to under 2,000.

The troops that will remain in Baghdad will reportedly focus on bilateral security and not the counter-ISIS mission, the official told Reuters.

The Trump administration has outlined other plans to reduce U.S. military presence abroad, including a planned withdrawal from Syria after a new government toppled former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. ISIS’ presence in the Middle East has waned considerably since its height in the 2010s, in part thanks to U.S. campaigns under President Donald Trump in his first term.

“The U.S. Government will continue close coordination with the Government of Iraq and Coalition members to ensure a responsible transition,” Parnell told the DCNF.