BAGHDAD, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Iraqis prepared for a
massive celebration in Baghdad on Monday as Iraqi security forces tightened
security measures in Baghdad and others cities a day before the deadline of U.S.
troops' withdrawal from cities and towns.
Baghdad mayoralty announced in a statement that a
public party would be held at 6:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) at Baghdad's Zawraa Park, the
biggest in the capital, to mark the "Day of National Sovereignty", as Iraqis
named the June 30 date by which the U.S. troops would completely pull back from
urban areas.
U.S. soldiers and Iraqi soldiers patrol
in the street of Baghdad, capital of Iraq, on June 28, 2009. As the
deadline, June 30, for the U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities is
approaching, bomb attacks frequent these days in Baghdad. The U.S.-Iraqi
troops raised the security alert level here to assure the stability here
for U.S. troops to withdraw smoothly. (Xinhua/Gao Shan) Photo Gallery>>>
The celebration will be under the auspices of Iraqi
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the statement said, adding that singers and poets
well-known to Iraqis, along with music groups will take the stage.
The June 30 date is seen as a milestone for the
country's march toward sovereignty six years after U.S.-led invasion that
toppled the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003.
However, a spate of bombings in Baghdad and other
Iraqi cities last week claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqis, casting doubt on
the ability of Iraqi security forces to take over from U.S. troops in
controlling security and defeat insurgency of both Shiite and Sunni militant
groups in the war-torn country.
On Monday, security was tightened across Baghdad with
the Iraqi Army and police were closing roads and carefully searching cars at
dozens of checkpoints that spread across the capital.
"All of our troops are on high alert. There will be
no days off. They are at their full strength across the country," said Maj. Gen.
Abdul-Kareem Khalaf, spokesman for the interior ministry.
A few days ago, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
described the day of U.S. troops' pull back a "great victory" and called on
Iraqi people to celebrate the event.
Meanwhile, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said
that the Iraqi government decided to hold a celebration on Monday, while on
Tuesday, the day of June 30 itself, will be a public holiday.
As part of a security pact signed between Baghdad and
Washington last year, U.S. troops will withdraw from Iraq's cities, towns and
villages by June 30, 2009 to their bases, and will leave the country by Dec. 31,
2011.
BAGHDAD, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi towns and cities aren't
quiet as both Baghdad and Washington had expected when the withdrawal of U.S.
combat troops from the cities and towns is imminent.
Cities and towns are well poised to celebrate their
"milestone moment", instead of shaken and chilled by a series of deadly blasts
that claimed more than 200 lives just a week ahead of U.S. troops withdrawal. Full story
BAGHDAD, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki on Saturday called for national unity, confirming that U.S. combat
troops' withdrawal from Iraqi cities in three days shows that Iraqi security
forces can handle security control despite the recent deadly bombings that
killed and wounded hundreds of people. Full story
BAGHDAD, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi government
announced a public holiday to celebrate the U.S. troops' withdrawal from Iraqi
cities and towns by the end of the month.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a
statement on Wednesday that the cabinet decided to hold ceremonies on Monday
next week, while Tuesday, the day of June 30, will be a public holiday. Full story
BAGHDAD, June 22 (Xinhua) -- A series of bomb attacks
since late Sunday have killed at least 20 people and wounded some 91 others,
just days before the U.S. troops are to leave Iraqi cities and towns, raising
fears that Iraqi security forces is not able to fight relentless
insurgency. Full story
KIRKUK, Iraq, June 21 (Xinhua) -- A truck bomb explosion
on Saturday killed up to 70 people, including many women and children, and
injured more than 180 others in the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk in northern
Iraq, a local police source said on Sunday.
"The latest reports of yesterday's truck bombing said that
70 people were killed and more than 180 others were injured," the source told
Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Full story
BAGHDAD, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki said Saturday that the U.S. troops' withdrawal from Iraqi cities and
towns by the end of this month would be a "great victory" for Iraqis.
"It is a great victory for Iraqis as we are going to
take our first step toward ending the foreign presence in Iraq," Maliki said
during a conference in Baghdad for leaders of ethnic Turkmen minority. Full story
