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August 18, 2010After Seven Years, Final U.S. Combat Brigade Leaves Iraq
The U.S. military says the last American combat unit is leaving Iraq, as the August 31 deadline approaches for U.S. troops to end combat operations in that country.
The last of the unit's vehicles were crossing the border into Kuwait early Thursday.
About 50,000 U.S. troops will remain in Iraq as a transitional force.
They will focus on training Iraqi soldiers and performing counter-terrorism operations.
Picture of Former U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraq's President Jalal Talabani U.S. forces have carried out combat operations in Iraq for more than seven years in Operation Iraqi Freedom launched by former President George W. Bush.
Current President Barack Obama has set a goal of removing all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.
The U.S. combat withdrawal comes as a wave of violence has hit Iraq. At least five people died in attacks Wednesday, a day after a suicide blast killed nearly 60 people and wounded 125 others at an army recruitment station in Baghdad.
The White House said the suicide bombing would not affect the U.S. timetable for withdrawing forces from Iraq.
