Iraq celebrates US withdrawal, 'dawn of a new day'

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki declared a new dawn on Saturday as Iraq celebrated the departure of American troops at a ceremony held amid tight security and without Maliki's key political rivals.

Iraq was engulfed in its worst political crisis in a year after the last US troops left on Dec. 18 when Maliki sought the arrest of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, threatening a frail coalition government of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. (Reuters)