Carnival time for Iraqis as nation waves farewell to 'invaders' after 6-year occupation

Baghdad has declared today a national holiday to mark the end of the United States presence on the streets of Iraq's towns and cities.

Festivals are being planned across the country to coincide with the US combat forces' withdrawal, which comes more than six years after the ousting of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

"The majority of the Iraqi people want to have a civilian country, they want all foreign forces to leave," Mohammad Sabir Ismail, the Iraqi ambassador to China, said yesterday in Beijing.