Australia withdrew its 550 combat troops from southern Iraq last year and will now bring home about 45 soldiers employed in non-combat roles in coalition headquarters, the military said in a statement on Monday night.

No Australian soldiers died in combat or on operational duty during the six-year deployment, having been involved in recent years mainly in training.

The head of the defence force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said Australia could take great pride in the enduring contribution that it had made to the future of Iraq.

'Australian troops have provided important support to security and stabilisation operations, and have been responsible for the training of approximately 33,000 Iraqi army soldiers,' he said.

'The Australian government and the department of defence in particular look forward to maintaining a strong and robust defence cooperation program with Iraq into the future.'

Australia was taken into the war by the former conservative government of John Howard, a close ally of then US president Geoerge W. Bush, though opinion polls later showed that most voters opposed the operation.

The withdrawal of combat troops last June honoured an election pledge Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made before his centre-left Labor Party was elected in late 2007.

About 100 defence force personnel will remain in Baghdad to provide protection for Australian diplomatic staff. -- AFP