Iraq on Wednesday formally took charge of the last British military base in the southern port city of Basra.
"Today we celebrate the takeover of the Basra Palace from the mulitnational forces," said Iraq's national security advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie who was in Basra to oversee the formal handover.
"It is a happy day as it represents restoring of national sovereignty."
On Monday, around 500 British soldiers slipped out of the former Saddam Hussein palace, handing over security to Iraqi forces and leaving behind a city in the grip of a brutal militia turf war.
The British military has now handed over four of the five bases in the Basra province to Iraqi forces, after four and a half inconclusive years of fighting since the US-led March 2003 invasion.
Britain's entire military force of 5,500 troops is now based at Basra's desert air base, 11 kilometres (seven miles) west of Basra city.
The move came amid heightened tensions between Washington and London, the closest US ally in Iraq, over their policy in the war-torn nation.
The evacuation of the troops from Basra city paves the way for a full British handover of security in the region to Iraqi authorities which the defence ministry says could take place in the autumn.