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| Title | Last U.S. forces leave Iraq |
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Country | Iraq | United States of America |
| Publication Date | 18 December 2011 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Last U.S. forces leave Iraq, 18 December 2011, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4f1431c021.html [accessed 31 May 2012] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Last U.S. forces leave Iraq
December 18, 2011
The U.S. military says the last convoy of U.S. troops has crossed from Iraq into Kuwait – completing its withdrawal of combat forces from the country.
The final column of around 100 armored vehicles carrying some 500 U.S. troops is reported to have crossed the southern Iraqi desert into Kuwait on December 18.
Speaking at the White House on December 17, U.S. President Barack Obama said Iraq's future was now in their "own hands."
The withdrawal comes nearly nine years after U.S. soldiers led an invasion Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein's regime and to search for weapons of mass destruction.
Saddam's rule was brought to an end, but the weapons of mass destruction the regime was alleged to possess were never found.
At the height of the war, more than 170,000 U.S. troops were in Iraq at more than 500 bases.
Nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers and more than 100,000 Iraqis have died in the conflict that began in March 2003.
Following the withdrawal, plans call for just a few hundred U.S. troops to remain in Iraq to conduct training and to secure the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
compiled from agency reports
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
Topics: Armed forces/military,
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