This aerial photograph, taken from a helicopter, shows the Al-Asad airbase in the western part of the Anbar desert in Iraq on December 29, 2019.
According to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, the last group of American military advisors left the Ain al-Asad airbase in Anbar province on January 18. This base had been a location for American troops for over two decades. The coalition led by the United States, which fought against the terrorist organization ISIS (recognized as a terrorist group in Russia), transferred control of military facilities, including the headquarters of the Combined Joint Operations Command, to Iraqi security forces. Currently, American troops continue to be stationed at the Al-Harir base located in the Erbil province of Iraqi Kurdistan. This region has an autonomous status, has its own authorities and security forces, although the central government of Iraq exercises only limited control. Since the beginning of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the number of American troops has undergone significant changes. At its peak, it reached 170,000 personnel. Although the troops were withdrawn in 2011, in 2014, at the request of Baghdad, about 5,000 servicemen were sent back to the country to combat terrorist threats. As of December 2021, after the announcement of the completion of the combat mission, approximately 2,500 American servicemen remained in Iraq, working as advisors. In 2023, Iraqi authorities began actively pursuing the complete withdrawal of these troops.
