BAGHDAD, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iraq on Wednesday marked its 100th anniversary of Army Day, as the Iraqi forces held a military parade in the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad.
The parade was held with the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who is also Commander-in-Chief of Iraqi forces, as well as Iraqi ministers, military commanders, and representatives of diplomatic missions in Iraq.
Formations of ground, air, and naval forces, as well as tanks and other military vehicles marched in the parade, while formations of warplanes and helicopters flew overheads in Grand Festivities Square.
Meanwhile, a statement by the presidency said that Iraqi President Barham Salih congratulated the Iraqi forces on the centenary of the Iraqi Army Day, stressing that victory over terrorism and preserving Iraq's sovereignty will not be fully achieved without ending weapons out of control of the Iraqi authorities.
Late on Tuesday, al-Kadhimi said in a televised speech on the centenary of the Iraqi Army Day that only hundreds of U.S. troops would remain in Iraq after the withdrawal of half of them from the country.
He pointed out that the U.S. troops' withdrawal came due to "the ongoing strategic dialogue between Iraq and the United States that yield in the withdrawal of batches of U.S. troops during the past months. The withdrawal of more than half of them will complete in the coming days."
"Only hundreds of them will remain for cooperation in the fields of training, rehabilitation, armament, and technical support (for Iraqi forces)," al-Kadhimi said.
Iraq established its first battalion of the modern army by the British during their mandate over the country on Jan. 6, 1921, after World War I. Enditem
