U.S. forces end their mission in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (NBC, KYMA) - Iraqi security forces paraded across the country Wednesday, marking the end of the U.S.-led coalition's mission in Iraq.

U.S. forces ended their mission in Iraq on Wednesday after more than two decades of war there, raising fears of a security vacuum that would embolden Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias and allow Islamic State to regroup.

The withdrawal of the final troops, mainly from an airbase in erbil in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, was celebrated as a victory by Tehran and its allies, although many Iraqis were concerned that their own security forces were unprepared.

It comes 23 years after us-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein, triggering years of upheaval and chaos.

U.S. troops initially left at the end of 2011, but came back less than three years later after Islamic state fighters seized a third of Iraq.

More than 4,500 us troops died in America's biggest war of this century, around twice as many as in the parallel war in Afghanistan.

The Iraq body count project says more than 200,000 Iraqi civilians were killed.