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Conflict & Security1032 outlets ran this3 min read

Italy completes 12-year military withdrawal from Iraq

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced the end of the mission ahead of schedule.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published Updated
Italy completes 12-year military withdrawal from Iraq

What this story says

  • Italy has completed the withdrawal of its armed forces from Iraq, ending a 12-year military presence.
  • The withdrawal was finalised ahead of the September 30 deadline.
  • Italian forces were involved in operations against ISIS and NATO training missions.
  • Defence Minister Guido Crosetto described the withdrawal as the start of a new phase in relations with Iraq.

Who covered it

Left 26%(146)Centre 45%(248)Right 29%(162)

Percentages are shares of the 556 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 476 of the 1032 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

59/100

Hype

20/100

1032 sources · methodology

Missing from the left

Only 146 of the 556 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

A reader who follows the left would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.

Italy has completed the withdrawal of its armed forces from Iraq, concluding a 12-year military presence. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced the end of the mission on Tuesday, stating that the final personnel involved in recovering and transferring logistical equipment had returned. The withdrawal was completed before the official deadline of September 30.

Italian forces in Iraq participated in operations against ISIS as part of the international coalition and also served on NATO's training and advisory mission. The mission, Operation Inherent Resolve, began 12 years ago. Defence Minister Crosetto stated that the withdrawal signifies a new phase in relations between Italy and Iraq.

Disagreement on remaining personnel

While most reports indicate a complete withdrawal, one digest from Anadolu Ajansı stated that two Italian Carabinieri remain in the country under a separate EU mission. None of the other digests or the full report from Il Post mention this detail.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mention the historical context of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq or Italy's earlier peacekeeping role between 2003 and 2006, details that were included in the left-rated full report from Il Post.

Tags:#Italy#Iraq#MilitaryWithdrawal#MiddleEast#ISIS#NATO

Coverage settled. We checked this 22 times and stopped on 5 Oct 2026, 03:30. The figures above are what it finished at.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

146 rated outlets

  • Six of the sampled left‑rated outlets led on the 12‑year duration of the operation. Il Post, The Hindu, SooToday.com, Elora Fergus Today, Bay Today and flamboroughtoday.com each noted that the withdrawal ended a twelve‑year mission against the Islamic State. The other digests did not mention the length.
  • Il Post’s full report recorded Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announcing the end of Italy’s troop presence, linking it to the conclusion of the Inherent Resolve coalition agreed in 2024. It recalled Italy’s earlier peace‑keeping role from 2003‑2006 and described the US invasion as based on a false pretext of weapons of mass destruction.
  • The Hindu’s full article focused on the U.S. pullout, noting that the departure was celebrated by Iran‑aligned groups and warning that Iranian influence could expand. It quoted Iraqi security analyst Jasim al‑Bahadli and militia commander Abu Mojtaba al‑Yasiri, and highlighted Kurdish anxieties and concerns about a security vacuum.

Centre

248 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated digest from WTVB reported that Italy completed the withdrawal of its last troops from Iraq on Tuesday, ending a 12-year military presence. The report attributed this information to a defence ministry statement and noted that Rome had already recalled most of its personnel by an unspecified date.

Right

162 rated outlets

  • The right-rated digests from news-pravda.com, The Straits Times, and vz.ru all reported that Italy completed the withdrawal of its armed forces from Iraq, ending a 12-year military presence. These digests attributed the information to a defence ministry statement. The digest from Anadolu Ajansı also reported the completion of the withdrawal but added that two Italian Carabinieri remain in the country under a separate EU mission.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Italy completes 12-year military withdrawal from Iraq?
Of the 556 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 26% are rated left, 45% are rated centre, 29% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 1032. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Italy completes 12-year military withdrawal from Iraq left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 556 rated outlets on this story, 26% are rated left, 45% are rated centre, 29% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Italy completes 12-year military withdrawal from Iraq biased?
Italy completes 12-year military withdrawal from Iraq is one event reported by 1032 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Italy completes 12-year military withdrawal from Iraq?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Italy completes 12-year military withdrawal from Iraq?
1032 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
When did Italy's military presence in Iraq end?
Italy's military presence in Iraq concluded on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, with the return of its last troops. This ended a 12-year deployment that began with operations against ISIS and included NATO training missions.
Was the withdrawal completed on time?
Yes, the withdrawal was completed ahead of the September 30 deadline. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto announced the completion of the mission on Tuesday, indicating the final personnel had returned.
What was the role of Italian forces in Iraq?
Italian forces were involved in operations against ISIS as part of the international coalition and also participated in NATO's training and advisory mission in Iraq. Their presence lasted for 12 years.

Read it at the source

1087 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

151
Show 143 more

Centre

252
Show 244 more

Right

174
Show 166 more

Not rated

510
Show 502 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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