Iraqi MPs approve US exit

After 11 months of hard-nosed negotiations with Washington and a flurry of domestic political horse-trading leading up to the vote, the pact was approved by 149 members of the 198 who attended the session of the 275-member assembly.

The final count of the votes was provided by the office of Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Khaled al-Attiya, which corrected an earlier count announced during the parliamentary session itself.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-led government succeeded in corralling a majority to support the historic agreement, including the main blocs representing the country's Sunni and Kurdish minorities.

"Today [Thursday] if this passes it will be a victory for democracy because the opposition have done their part and the supporters have done their part," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said ahead of the vote.

"It is good to see that representatives have reached a national consensus."

The agreement was approved by the cabinet a week ago and is now virtually guaranteed to be ratified by Iraq's presidential council.

The United States hailed the passing of the agreement, saying it would "formalize a strong and equal partnership" in a statement from Ambassador Ryan Crocker and General Ray Odierno, the top commander of US troops in Iraq.

"(The agreement) provides the means to secure the significant security gains we have achieved together and to deter future aggression," they said. "We congratulate the government of Iraq and its elected representatives."

The measure would govern some 150,000 U.S. troops stationed in over 400 bases when their U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year, giving the Iraqi government veto power over virtually all of their operations.

It marks a coming-of-age for Maliki's government, which drove a hard bargain with Washington, securing a number of concessions over nearly a year of tough negotiations.