• Troops pull back but combat operations will continue until August 2010. • Iraqi government declares "National Sovereignty Day"

Iraq was on alert for renewed insurgent violence today as US troops began to withdraw from the country's towns and cities after handing over security duties to the new Iraqi army.

Six years on from the 2003 US-led invasion, the partial withdrawal will see 130,000 American troops retreat to military bases in the country, ready to assist if asked by their Iraqi counterparts. US combat operations will not end until August 2010, with a full withdrawal by the end of 2011.

The Iraqi government has declared a public holiday to mark what it calls “National Sovereignty Day” and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is confident that the handover to Iraqi forces will boost support for his government.

However, others have warned him that he may regret hailing today as a demonstration of Iraqi independence if forced to call on US troops for support. Both US and Iraqi officials have warned that attacks by al-Qaeda and sectarian groups are likely to rise as they seek to claim credit for the pullback by US forces.

The US Ambassador, Christopher Hill, said that while there would be no major withdrawal until next year, today remained a “milestone”.

"We think Iraq is ready. Iraq thinks it's ready,” he said.

"I don't think this a question of (US troops) being hamstrung because this is not our country, this country belongs to the Iraqi people. I think not unlike in the life of an individual, sometimes a country, a nation, needs to rise to the occasion and I have confidence that they'll be able to do that,” he added.

However, he emphasised that there would still be “a lot of US combat capabilities in Iraq for months to come”.

“After June 30, with US combat forces out of cities and villages, localities, we'll still be in Iraq," he said.

“We will still have a very robust number of US troops in Iraq and, in fact, those troops will not begin to withdraw from Iraq until probably several months from now.”

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