Iraqi forces prepared to take control of towns and cities nationwide on Tuesday as American troops finally withdrew in a milestone for the country's recovery, six years after the US-led invasion.
Baghdad's streets were quiet and traffic much lighter than usual as people stayed at home for a national holiday to mark the June 30 pullback, ahead of a complete US withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2011.
Iraqis celebrated into the night but soldiers and police were out in force to prevent insurgent groups spoiling the party as American troops quit their posts in urban centres.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani marked the security handover by thanking US forces for the sacrifices they made in overthrowing now executed dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, and in the years of violence that followed.
The US army announced that four of its soldiers died on Monday from combat-related incidents, taking to 4,321 the number of US soldiers killed since the invasion.
The pullout is part of a landmark security agreement signed last year between Baghdad and Washington covering the fate of the some 1,33,000 US troops still in Iraq.
Security was tight in the wake of several massive bombings that have killed more than 200 people this month alone.
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