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| Iraq |
| Iraq: Deadly attack in Kirkuk as US troops withdraw |
| 2009-07-01 |
| [ADN Kronos] At least 25 people were reported to have been killed by a car bomb in a market in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk late Tuesday. The attack took place as Iraqis celebrated the withdrawal of US troops from towns and cities, six years after the allied invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein. Iraqi and US troops were on high alert for attacks on Tuesday which was declared a national day of celebration. More than 750,000 Iraqi forces were deployed in Iraqi cities, replacing US troops which have withdrawn to their bases outside the major cities. Earlier on Tuesday, the US military announced that four soldiers had died from wounds they received during "combat" in Iraq, without disclosing any further details. US troops began withdrawing from the country's major cities and towns as the midnight deadline passed on Tuesday for troops to hand over security to Iraqi forces. There were widespread celebrations and fireworks lit up the sky over Baghdad in the early hours of Tuesday, after thousands of Iraqis attended a party in a park where singers performed patriotic songs. "The withdrawal of American troops is completed now from all cities, after everything they sacrificed for the sake of security," Sadiq al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, said. Many Iraqis ignored an appeal by Tariq al-Hashemi, the Iraqi vice president, to avoid crowded places during the US withdrawal, after more than 250 people were killed in bombings over the past 10 days. Tuesday was declared an official holiday called 'National Sovereignty Day.' "June 30 represents a historic turning point and a success for the Iraqi people, which had been for so long, waiting to regain their sovereignty," said Haydar el-Ebadi, member of Iraq's Islamic Dawa party, in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI). Ebadi also said that the latest wave of attacks in Iraq are an "attempt to make the transfer of security to the Iraqis fail." In a televised ceremony in Baghdad, prime minister al-Maliki said that the government could keep its citizens safe. "Those who think that Iraqis are not able to protect their country and that the withdrawal of foreign forces will create a security vacuum are making a big mistake," he said, quoted by Arab media. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 I just don't know what to think about Iraq. I was hoping they would 'make it', but they must be the biggest bunch of ingrates on the planet. If it devolves into all out civil war in the next 2 years I won't be happy either with all the sacrifices our soldiers have made. Screw that whole region (except the one real democracy of course). |
| Posted by: Don Vito Elmusort2288 2009-07-01 11:43 |