US lowers flag to officially end war in Iraq

The US military has formally shut down the war in Iraq, officially retiring the flag of US Forces-Iraq.

Troops lowered the flag and wrapped it in camouflage, formally "casing" it, according to Army tradition.

The Baghdad ceremony was attended by US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, who told troops they leave Iraq with "lasting pride".

Panetta said veterans of the nearly nine-year conflict can be "secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people to cast tyranny aside".

Army General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Lloyd Austin, the top US commander in Iraq, also spoke at the ceremony at Baghdad International Airport.