U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced on Thursday the end of the U.S. military mission in Iraq during a ceremony in Baghdad after the Iraqi war broke out nearly nine years ago.

The ceremony was also attended by General Lloyd Austin, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and James Jeffrey, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, along with Iraqi military's chief of staff Lieutenant General Babaker Zebari and defense ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari.

Panetta arrived in Baghdad before midday to attend the ceremony, and he was scheduled to meet with top Iraqi officials to discuss the full withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

This is Panetta's second visit to Iraq since he took office as the U.S. defense secretary.

According to a security pact named Status of Forces Agreement ( SOFA) signed in 2008 between the United States and Iraq, all the U. S. troops are scheduled to pull out of Iraq by the end of 2011.