Coalition Forces to Withdraw From Ain al-Asad Base
Qais al-Muhammadi, deputy commander of Iraq’s Joint Operations Command announced that the Ain al-Asad base will be fully handed over to Iraqi security forces next week, following the withdrawal of coalition troops. He stressed that the agreement ending the coalition’s mission was finalized three months ago, and that no coalition personnel are currently present within Iraq’s Joint Operations Command.
Referring to Baghdad’s shifting approach toward foreign partners, he added that Iraq is moving away from direct foreign troop presence and instead toward memorandums of understanding and security/training agreements with the United States, Britain, and France. He said security across Iraq’s desert regions has reached an advanced level, and revealed a special intelligence operation carried out beyond Iraq’s borders — particularly in Syria — coordinated with Syrian authorities and the U.S.-led coalition, which resulted in the arrest of several wanted militants.
Implementation of the agreement to withdraw U.S. forces and fully transfer Ain al-Asad to Iraqi control marks the beginning of a new phase in Baghdad–Washington security relations. In this phase, Iraq seeks to reduce reliance on foreign troop presence while redefining cooperation around training, intelligence sharing, and technical agreements. The government also hopes to ease domestic sensitivities toward foreign military footprints — while still keeping channels with Western partners open. Yet despite Iraqi forces’ readiness, fully executing the withdrawal presents challenges, as parts of the Iraqi army and counter-terrorism apparatus still depend on U.S. technical, aerial, and intelligence support.
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