U.S. military says the last of its troops in Iraq have withdrawn

The U.S. military announced on Wednesday that it has completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, concluding a 12-year mission to combat the Islamic State group. The final personnel departed from an air base in northern Iraq, finalizing an agreement reached between Washington and Baghdad two years ago.

The exit marks the formal end of U.S. military presence in the country twenty-three years after the initial outbreak of the Iraq War. The completion of the withdrawal also unfolds against the backdrop of an ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran that has occasionally spilled over into Iraqi territory.