Iraq’s national security adviser, Qasim al-Araji, said Sunday that the United States will evacuate all air defense systems deployed in Erbil in Kurdistan. The systems have played a central role in recent months in repelling Iranian attacks carried out using suicide drones and ballistic missiles against sites and headquarters in the region.
According to the Iraqi official, the evacuation of the systems will be carried out as part of the American withdrawal from the country, scheduled to take place on September 30, 2026, in accordance with an agreement reached between Baghdad and Washington. He said the international coalition forces led by the United States will withdraw completely from Iraq—a move that will be implemented gradually and will include the evacuation of all soldiers and military forces from the country.
Despite the end of the military mission and the reduction of its presence on the ground, the United States has made clear it will continue to cooperate with Iraqi forces in the areas of training, intelligence, and counterterrorism operations against ISIS. This cooperation will continue under bilateral agreements that do not require an extensive military presence, though no official figures have been released so far regarding the number of soldiers who have already left the country.