Baghdad: The day ultimately came when the American army officially ended the war in Iraq. It rolled up and covered its military flag Thursday. In this backdrop, Iraq has taken its control on the last American bases on Friday.

The furling of the flag was done at a formal function in Baghdad. The US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta paid tribute to the American soldiers who laid their lives during the long nine years of the war.

The war had taken to the seemingly irreversible entry of American forces to Iraq, when hundreds of millions of people across the globe in 2003 could not keep America from penetrating into the Iraqi territory.

The war was launched on the pretext that Saddam Hussein in Iraq had dangerous chemical weapons. This accusation was later found to have no base; and had led to many changes in the Defense portfolios in the US.

The ultimate hope of seeing an end to the war came with the election of Barack Obama as the President of the US.

Defense Secretary said that a free and sovereign Iraqis born after sacrifices from both the American as well as Iraqi sides. Some 4000 American troops will be leaving Iraq in the coming days, but some trainers will still stay here.

Meanwhile the debates on the outcome on the years of American military presence are hot topic of debate in the media.The Iraqi capital Baghdad however witnessed protests seeking expulsion of Iranian refugees from the country who have been in Iraq since the time of Saddam.