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The United States has transferred a diplomatic and logistics hub at Baghdad International Airport to the Iraqi government, Iraq's foreign ministry announced Thursday, closing the chapter on a site that was repeatedly targeted by Iran-backed armed groups during the recent Middle East war.
The ministry said an agreement was signed with US charge d'affaires Steven Fagin to hand over the diplomatic support centre affiliated with the US embassy at the airport to Iraqi authorities.
Officials described the handover as part of a broader effort to end the military presence of the US-led coalition in Iraq, with remaining troops expected to complete their withdrawal by September 30.
The airport facility was among the US-linked sites most frequently struck by Iran-backed armed groups, which have long demanded the departure of foreign forces from Iraq.
During the Middle East war, such groups targeted US positions and coalition forces in Iraq more than 600 times, including the Baghdad airport hub.
An Iraqi security official and a diplomatic source told AFP earlier this month that American troops had already evacuated the site ahead of the formal transfer.
Baghdad and Washington agreed in 2024 to wind down the coalition's mission against the Islamic State group in Iraq, a campaign that had brought thousands of foreign troops into the country at the height of the militant group's territorial control in the mid-2010s.
Since that agreement, coalition forces have withdrawn from a series of bases and are now present only at Erbil airport in the country's north.
The coalition's continued presence, particularly after the military defeat of the Islamic State, has remained a persistent source of friction between Iraqi authorities and Tehran-backed factions operating in the country.
Since taking office this year, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has pledged to reinforce the state's monopoly on arms and to ensure armed factions surrender their weapons to government control.
Iraqi authorities say the conclusion of the coalition's mission removes a central justification that armed groups have used to justify retaining their arsenals, framing the troop withdrawal as a step toward consolidating state authority over armed actors nationwide.
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