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Six years and three months after the March 2003 invasion, the United States is withdrawing its remaining combat troops from Iraq's cities and turning over security to Iraqi police and soldiers.
While more than 130,000 U.S. troops remain in the country, patrols by heavily armed soldiers in hulking vehicles have largely disappeared from Baghdad, Mosul and Iraq's other urban centers.
Iraqis danced in the streets and set off fireworks overnight in impromptu celebrations of a pivotal moment in their nation's troubled history.
"The Army of the U.S. is out of my country," said Ibrahim Algurabi, 34, a dual U.S.-Iraqi citizen now living in Arizona who attended a concert of celebration in Baghdad's Zawra Park.
"People are ready for this change. There are a lot of opportunities to rebuild our country, to forget the past and think about the future."
"Out, America, out!" a group of sweat-drenched young men
<insurgents???> chanted Monday at a Baghdad park as the sun was setting.
They jumped up and down to the deafening beat of drums and the wail of horns.
Across town, the virtual absence of American troops and helicopters,
the cheerfulness of Iraqis in military uniform, and the cries of joy gave this scarred, bunkered capital a rare carnival-like atmosphere. Iraqi police and army cars
were decked with ribbons, balloons, plastic flowers and new flags. A few Baghdadis drove under the sweltering midday sun
honking horns as passengers hung out the windows waving flags and yelling euphorically."
