The United States completed the withdrawal of all its troops from Iraq on Wednesday, formally ending the 12-year counterterrorism mission against the Islamic State group, the Pentagon said.

The final departure took place at Erbil Air Base in Iraq’s Kurdish region, where coalition forces and equipment completed what Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell described as an “orderly departure”. The move was part of a phased plan agreed between Washington and Baghdad in 2024.

The decision to withdraw was first taken by former US President Joe Biden and completed under Donald Trump, who hailed the exit as a great day for America. About 2,500 US troops had remained in Iraq in recent years to train Iraqi forces, gather intelligence and support counterterrorism operations.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi called the withdrawal the start of a new phase rooted in Iraq’s sovereignty and said Iraqi forces would continue the fight against ISIS. He also pledged that non-state armed groups would not be allowed to hold weapons.

The broader counter-ISIS coalition will continue from a new headquarters in Jordan, with US forces staying active in Syria.