In light of the US withdrawal from Iraq, the German armed forces also ended their mission in the country. On Thursday (October 1, 2026), the German Ministry of Defense announced the evacuation of the last 28 soldiers. A ministry spokesman said on Wednesday: “The German army has accomplished its mission there in the Kurdistan region.” The ministry added that the withdrawal comes in response to the Iraqi government's desire for all foreign forces to leave the country.
The United States, in turn, ended its military mission in Iraq on Wednesday, which had continued, with interruptions, since 2003. Iraq celebrated the withdrawal of foreign forces as “Sovereignty Day.” Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi spoke of a “new phase” for the country.
Since 2015, German forces have participated in the international coalition against ISIS led by the United States in Iraq. Up to 500 German soldiers from a base in Erbil and a logistics center in Jordan supported the international coalition’s efforts to combat the extremist organization, particularly through reconnaissance flights and aerial refueling of combat aircraft.
In previous years, Germany also played a prominent role in training and arming Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who played a role in the war against ISIS. Last January, the German Parliament extended the mission for an additional year. With a maximum of 500 soldiers, this mission was the German Army's second-largest overseas deployment, after its participation in NATO's Operation Sea Guardians in the Mediterranean.
Victory of the "Islamic resistance"?
The German newspaper "Tatz" wrote that after the Israeli and American attack on Iran, the positions of Western forces in the region have become an increasing target for forces loyal to Tehran. A French soldier was killed in a drone attack targeting a camp near Erbil. Since then, the international presence in the region has been significantly reduced.
According to the vision of the government in Baghdad, October 1 represents the beginning of a new era in the country. Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi renewed his demand that weapons be restricted to the state only. A plan that includes a timetable for disarming the militias is scheduled to be implemented by June 30, 2027 at the latest.
Powerful militias allied with Iran were supposed to be disarmed in parallel with the withdrawal of US forces and integrated into the official security services. The Secretary-General of the Iraqi "Hezbollah Brigades", Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi, on Wednesday evening called on all fighters to stop all military operations, with the exception of attacks on enemy aircraft that violate Iraqi airspace. Al-Hamidawi described the withdrawal of American forces as a victory for the "Islamic resistance."
Kataib Hezbollah is one of the most powerful armed groups in Iraq and has close relations with Iran. The militia had previously threatened a new escalation of violence, vowing to overthrow the government "by all means" if it acted against "the interests of the people."
Fears of Iran
The specter of new armed confrontations between rival Iraqi factions and their external supporters, from Iran and Russia to Türkiye and other NATO powers, still exists.
The war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran weakened their capabilities in the region and made them lose part of their influence and military and moral authority. Therefore, Iran may try to exploit the emerging power vacuum. On Thursday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard described the American withdrawal as a “historic victory.”
These developments raise fears that the minority populations in multinational Iraq will be harmed more after the departure of international forces.
Irfan Ortas, the Federal President of the Central Council of Yazidis in Germany, told the German newspaper "Tageszeitung" that "the complete withdrawal of international forces may be viewed, especially by religious minorities, as an indication that they will not enjoy international military protection in the future."
In August 2014, ISIS invaded the Sinjar region in northern Iraq and committed massacres against the Yazidis residing there.
Ortaş added: “More than twelve years after the genocide, a large portion of the Yazidi population is still living as displaced persons within the country and unable to return to their areas of origin.”
He also demanded that the security file not be left to militias or non-governmental armed groups, stressing that the Iraqi state is required to impose its legitimate monopoly on the use of force and provide reliable security structures for the Yazidis.
Praise for the German role in Kurdistan
Ortaş praised the role of the German army in the region, saying: “It contributed, especially after the genocide against the Yazidis and during the war against ISIS, to providing a feeling of security.”
He added that this feeling of security was a basic condition for humanitarian organizations to be able to carry out their work.
For his part, Kurdish military commander Sirwan Barzani expressed his concern about the withdrawal of the international coalition led by the United States. He told Agence France-Presse: “We do not have the necessary means to protect the airspace over Kurdistan.”
But he stressed that the Peshmerga forces are ready to confront any threats, noting that their capabilities and expertise have clearly improved thanks to the training, support and armament provided by the international coalition.
The Peshmerga enjoys a special status inside Iraq, as it plays a role similar to the regional guard, and some of its units are integrated into the Iraqi army’s command structures. They are also the official forces of the autonomous Kurdistan region, so the issue of their disarmament is not up for discussion.
The German newspaper "Tageszeitung" quoted Qasim Taher Saleh, a member of the Green Party in the German Parliament, from the Kurdish city of Zakho, warning of the possibility of a power vacuum emerging after the withdrawal of international forces.
He said: "ISIS may regain its strength, militias backed by Iran and regional powers such as Türkiye may expand their influence, and in the worst-case scenario new confrontations may break out."
He considered the German army's withdrawal from Kurdistan a "fatal mistake," adding: "The Europeans must finally pursue an independent policy in the Middle East, instead of being dependent on the policies of the United States that have made the region more turbulent during the era of Donald Trump."
In turn, the foreign policy spokesman in the parliamentary bloc of the Social Democratic Party, Adis Ahmetovich, stressed that the military withdrawal “should not turn into a political withdrawal,” stressing that Germany’s responsibility towards Iraq and the Kurdistan region still exists, with the need to respect the Iraqi government’s desire to end the foreign military presence.
