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The Iraqi government has declared a "Day of National Sovereignty" for the occasion.

Voice of America said celebrations in Baghdad are to include music, dance and poetry, while in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, government TV has been playing patriotic music. The U.S. withdrawal is to be completed Tuesday.

Celebrators covered Iraqi military vehicles with flowers and military parades were organized in Diyala and Diwania provinces, VOA reported.

Army Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, told Fox TV on Sunday the handover of Iraqi cities to the Iraqi government has been completed. "We have already met the deadline", he said. "We have already moved out of the cities." Odierno told Fox U.S. troops have been withdrawing "over the last eight months and the final units have moved out of the cities over the last several weeks."

Gen. Mohammed al-Askeri, an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman, said he was confident the Iraqi army would be able to maintain order in the absence of U.S. troops, VOA said.

About 130,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq.

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