Ain al-Asad Airbase
Large Iraqi airbase in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, built in the 1980s
coalition forces handed Ain al-Asad to the Iraqi Army on 17 January 2026, eight months before the last American troops flew out of Erbil. No Iraqi airfield now hosts American strike aircraft.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why does the base Iran hit in 2020 still shape the American exit from Iraq?
Timeline for Ain al-Asad Airbase
US flies its last troops out of Erbil
Iran Conflict 2026Mentioned in: Pentagon adds a 19th name to its toll
Iran Conflict 2026Background
Ain al-Asad is Iraq's second-largest airbase, in Anbar province about 160km west of Baghdad. The Iraqi Army took full control in January 2026, and no American strike aircraft have been based on Iraqi soil since the last troops left Erbil that September.
Yugoslav contractors built the base between 1981 and 1987 for the Iraqi Air Force, which knew it as Qadisiyah. American forces captured it in April 2003 and it became the largest installation in western Iraq, a hub for two decades of operations against insurgents and then against Islamic State.
Its standing rests on one night. On 8 January 2020 the Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at it in retaliation for the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the only time Iran has openly struck an American installation that way. That makes Ain al-Asad the reference point for what an Iraq-based American presence costs, and the reason its handover reads as more than an administrative step.
Where is Ain al-Asad Airbase?
When did American forces leave Ain al-Asad?
Did Iran attack Ain al-Asad?
How big is Ain al-Asad Airbase?
