Last US troops leave Iraq over Kuwait border

The last US soldiers have left Iraq, bringing to an end nearly nine years of America's military campaign there. Vehicles carrying the last troops crossed the border into Kuwait on Sunday morning. US President Barack Obama marked the end of the war earlier in the week, meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The US military presence in Iraq began with the invasion in March 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime. In the insurgency that followed, nearly 4,500 Americans were killed, about 32,000 were wounded and hundreds of billions of dollars were spent. At the peak of their presence, there were 170,000 US troops and more than 500 bases in Iraq. The only US military presence left in Iraq now is 157 soldiers responsible for training at the US embassy, as well as a small contingent of marines protecting the diplomatic mission. Mr Obama announced in October that all US troops would leave Iraq by the end of 2011, a date previously agreed by former President George W Bush in 2008.