Iraq Marks Sovereignty Day as Final US Troops Depart, Ending Coalition Mission Against ISIL

Iraq staged military parades in both Baghdad and the shrine city of Najaf on Wednesday to commemorate what the government has designated "Sovereignty Day," a new national holiday celebrating the completion of the withdrawal of United States forces from the country. The last remaining American soldiers departed on Wednesday, formally closing out the US-led coalition campaign that had been operating on Iraqi soil for years.

The celebrations, broadcast by Al Jazeera's NewsFeed program, underscore the symbolic weight Baghdad has attached to the moment. The holiday is intended to mark the restoration of full control over national territory to Iraqi authorities, a milestone officials have framed as the culmination of a long and costly period of foreign military presence.

The US-led coalition's mission in Iraq was originally launched to counter the rise of ISIL, the armed group that seized large swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory beginning in 2014. At its peak, the campaign involved airstrikes, training programs, and advisory operations carried out alongside Iraqi security forces. The coalition's combat role was declared over in 2021, though a residual presence remained to advise and assist local troops until the final withdrawal this week.

Wednesday's departure of the last soldiers brings that residual mission to a definitive close. Iraqi units marched in formation in the capital and in Najaf, a city of particular religious and political significance to the country's Shia majority, signaling that the occasion was intended to resonate well beyond the ranks of the military.

The Iraqi government has not yet announced how it intends to sustain security operations in areas previously supported by coalition assets. Much of that support involved surveillance, logistics, intelligence sharing, and aerial assistance — capabilities that Iraqi commanders have historically relied upon when conducting operations against insurgent cells.

The withdrawal also raises questions about the trajectory of Iraq's relationship with Washington. The two countries are expected to maintain diplomatic and economic ties, but the removal of American boots on the ground marks a structural shift in a partnership that has defined Iraqi security policy for much of the past two decades. Iraqi officials have repeatedly stressed that they intend to manage their own security affairs without foreign combat personnel.

Domestically, Sovereignty Day carries political significance for the government, which can present the withdrawal as evidence that it has delivered on a long-standing demand of influential factions within the country. Calls for the departure of foreign troops had grown louder in recent years, particularly among Shia political blocs and armed groups aligned with them. The holiday is likely to be framed as a vindication of those demands.

Regional reactions are expected to be closely watched. Iraq's neighbors have viewed the US military presence with varying degrees of concern, and the end of the coalition mission may alter calculations in capitals across the Middle East. Whether the vacuum — or the perception of one — invites renewed competition among outside powers remains an open question for analysts.

The ISIL campaign left deep scars on Iraq, including mass displacement, the destruction of major cities, and the loss of tens of thousands of lives. The coalition's role in rolling back the group's territorial control is a matter of record, but the after-effects — including the fate of detained fighters, the reconstruction of damaged areas, and the reintegration of displaced families — will continue to shape Iraqi politics for years.

Iraqi security forces have consistently described themselves as capable of handling remaining threats independently. Military parades such as the ones in Baghdad and Najaf serve both as internal messaging and as a signal to external audiences that the state retains the capacity to defend itself and to project authority across its territory.

The holiday itself is a new addition to Iraq's civic calendar, and its establishment reflects a deliberate attempt to give the withdrawal a permanent place in national memory. Governments frequently create such observances to anchor political achievements in the public imagination, and Iraqi officials appear to be pursuing the same strategy.

For the United States, the moment closes a chapter that began with the 2003 invasion and evolved through multiple phases of occupation, partnership, and counterinsurgency. The final exit comes amid broader debates in Washington about the appropriate scale and scope of American military commitments abroad.

Practical questions remain about the coalition's non-military legacy. Training missions, equipment transfers, and intelligence cooperation arrangements will need to be renegotiated or wound down, and the terms of any future cooperation have yet to be publicly detailed.

The celebrations on Wednesday were marked by orderly military displays rather than large civilian gatherings, according to the broadcast footage. That tone may reflect an official preference for projecting discipline and continuity rather than triumphalism at a moment when the country still faces economic pressures and unresolved security challenges.

Wednesday's events, taken together, represent a pivot point. Iraq has declared its sovereignty fully restored, but the durability of that claim will be tested by how the state manages security, reconstruction, and its external relationships in the months ahead. The parades in Baghdad and Najaf marked the end of one chapter; the next will be written without foreign combat troops on Iraqi soil.