Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday said the country was gaining back its sovereignty, with the combat operations of the United States military coming to a close, DPA reported.
"Today Iraq is sovereign, independent and takes its own decisions for the present and future," al-Maliki said in a televised address on to mark the final day of the US combat operation.
"The US withdrawal from Iraq is an essential step in the restoring the full national sovereignty and achieving the aspirations of the Iraqi people to establish a free, independent and prosperous country."
Al-Maliki said the recent upsurge in violence against civilians and security forces were "desperate" acts by insurgents. He promised Iraqis better security.
Baghdad's relationship with Washington would become one based on diplomatic ties and economic links, he said.
Some seven years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, some 50,000 US troops, with only advisory, training and counter-terrorism capacity, are to remain in Iraq until 2011 under "Operation New Dawn."