Baghdad celebrates, Kurds concerned as US completes Iraq withdrawal

A member of the Iraqi security forces walks past an Iraqi flag as US military presence comes to an end. ( Reuters: Ahmed Saad )

The US military has completed the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group.

The move was touted by Baghdad as a sign of the country's increasing strength and sovereignty, while Kurdish officials have expressed concern over the removal of US air defence systems in the region.

Iraq's Kurdish region has faced more than 1,000 drone and ballistic-missile attacks during the recent US-Iran conflict, officials say.

The US military has completed the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group.

The last troops have left the last air base where they had been maintaining a presence in northern Iraq under an agreement between Baghdad and Washington, the military announced on Wednesday.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that US troops and equipment had completed an "orderly departure" from the air base in Irbil, in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

"This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organised military threat in Iraq and across the region," he said.

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