The U.S. military has handed over to the Iraqi government its second-largest base in Iraq.
Joint Base Balad -- a joint army and air force complex north of Baghdad -- housed some 36,000 American troops and contractors at the peak of the war.
A spokesman said that "with 27,500 landing and takeoffs a month, Balad was second only to London's Heathrow airport in traffic worldwide in 2006."
It was returned to Iraqi control on November 8 with the departure of the last members of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, the last unit to leave the base.
Under a bilateral agreement, all U.S. troops in Iraq are to leave the country by year's end.
compiled from agency reports
Joint Base Balad -- a joint army and air force complex north of Baghdad -- housed some 36,000 American troops and contractors at the peak of the war.
A spokesman said that "with 27,500 landing and takeoffs a month, Balad was second only to London's Heathrow airport in traffic worldwide in 2006."
It was returned to Iraqi control on November 8 with the departure of the last members of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, the last unit to leave the base.
Under a bilateral agreement, all U.S. troops in Iraq are to leave the country by year's end.
compiled from agency reports
