withdrawal

from Iraq by the end of the year. The final troops would return, he said, with their heads held high and with the backing of the American people.

"Today I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over. Over the next two months, our troops in Iraq, tens of thousands of them, will

pack up

their gear and board convoys for the journey home."

Mr Obama said discussions would go on with Iraqi leaders about how the US could continue to help train Iraqi forces.

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has confirmed that the United States has held a meeting with members of the militant Haqqani network. It's reported to have taken place in recent months before several major attacks against US interests in Afghanistan which have been blamed on Haqqani fighters. Here's Kim Ghattas.

Speaking to Pakistani journalists, Mrs Clinton said the US had reached out to the Taliban and the Haqqani network to test their sincerity and their willingness to engage in a peace process. The American secretary of state said Pakistan had helped

facilitate

the meeting. A political settlement is key to ending the war in Afghanistan. A senior US official also said the meeting took place over the summer at the request of Pakistan's intelligence services, the ISI, who asked the US to give it a chance.