Newzmilitary announced Wednesday that it completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group and prompting President Donald Trump to hail the conclusion of "a very expensive excursion into Hell.”The last U.S. troops left an air base in northern Iraq under a deal between Baghdad and Washington.Trump described the withdrawal by a Sept. 30 deadline as “orderly” and said in a social media post: “It has been a long time, with very bad decision-making that got us involved in this quagmire in the first place, but soon, that will be part of History.” He said the shift was a victory for the U.S., Iraq and a sign of victory over the Islamic State group.The withdrawal, agreed on two years ago, comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war between the United States and Iran that has also sometimes spilled over into Iraq, with Iran-backed militias firing on U.S.
striking the groups' strongholds.Trump’s comments came as own decision earlier this year to launch the war with Iran has been compared to the Iraq war for its undefined mission as it nears its seventh month.In recent years, Washington has appeared to seek to shift its focus from the Middle East toward Asia, but that shift has been inconsistent, with the Pentagon alternating between reducing its Mideast presence and then finding itself engaging in new conflicts — including the ongoing war in Iran.Baghdad touted the end of the U.S. mission as a sign of the country's increasing strength and sovereignty.The withdrawal was also celebrated by Iran-backed groups but raised concerns among some other Iraqis, particularly in the Kurdish region, where many fear a resurgence of the Islamic State group as well as more attacks by Iran-linked groups, possibly emboldened by the departure of U.S. forces.Meanwhile, questions loom around the future of the Iraqi militias, which the Baghdad government has sought to disarm, with little success so far.A new phase in Iraq after decades of US involvementPentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that U.S.
troops and equipment had completed an “orderly departure” from the air base in Irbil, in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.“This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the re… President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed the U.S. withdrawal of the last American troops from Iraq, ending a decades-long military presence that he said “marks the end of a very expensive excursion into Hell.”Trump in a social media post described the withdrawal by a Sept.
30 deadline as “orderly" and said, “It has been a long time, with very bad decision-making that got us involved in this quagmire in the first place, but soon, that will be part of History."He said the shift was a victory for the U.S., Iraq and a sign of victory over the Islamic State group, which troops had been fighting for a dozen years.Trump’s comments about the end of the conflict come as own decision earlier this year to launch a war with Iran has been compared to the Iraq war for its undefined mission as it nears its seventh month.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. striking the groups' strongholds.In recent years, Washington has appeared to seek to shift its focus from the Middle East toward Asia, but that shift has been inconsistent, with the Pentagon alternating between reducing its Mideast presence and then finding itself engaging in new conflicts — including the ongoing war in Iran.Baghdad touted the end of the U.S.
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