The US state Department says, the last American combat brigade has left Iraq, seven years after the invasion which led to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. A spokesman of the US Military said the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division began crossing by land into Kuwait in the early hours today. Most of them drove out of Iraq in a convoy of armoured vehicles. However, Voice of Iraq news agency says US combat troops are leaving Iraq and the withdrawal will be completed only by the end of this month. Quoting U.S. media, the agency says U.S. officials clarified that there are still 56 thousand U.S. soldiers in Iraq. So the reduction to 50,000 non-combat troops by Sept. 1 promised by President Barack Obama still has a some way to go. The pull out comes nearly two weeks before the deadline set by Washington. About 50,000 American troops will stay on in Iraq untill the end of next year to conduct support and training mission. At one time, there were 150,000 American troops in Iraq. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said the end of combat operations is a historic moment. The U.S. mission in Iraq will be transformed into a mainly diplomatic one as combat troops leave.