Iraq – US pull-out

Bomb attack mars Iraq's urban security takeover

Article published on the 2009-06-30 Latest update 2009-07-02 09:10 TU

An Iraqi soldier celebrates the US troop pullout from a base near Suwayra (50km southeast of Baghdad), 29 June 2009
(Photo: Reuters)

The United States handed over control of Iraqi cities to Iraqi police and military forces on Tuesday, the first step in the complete pull-out of US troops from the country by the end of next year. The day was also marked with a car bomb attack in a Kurdish district of the city of Kirkuk in the north of Iraq which killed at least 20 people.

The streets of Baghdad were reported quiet on Tuesday as businesses were closed and people stayed home for a National Day of Sovereignty, to mark the 30 June handover of military control of Iraq's cities from the US to Iraqi security forces.

In an address broadcast on state television to mark the occasion, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani recognised sacrifices made by the US in his country.

"They bore the burden and dangers against the cruelest regime and against the mutual enemy -- the terror," he said.

US troops officially handed security control of Bagdad, Mosul and other large cities to their Iraqi counterparts on Tuesday.

“All Iraqis are happy today because it’s the first day that they’re going to protect themselves,” said Tahsin al-Sheikhli, spokesperson for Baghdad’s civil defence. “We know that Iraq’s enemies will attempt to disrupt security, but our forces are ready to take them on.”

Many fear an escalation of violence in the country. Over 200 people were killed in June. A bomb in the northern town of Mosul on Monday killed ten people, and the US military said four soldiers died from combat-related injuries also Monday.

The evening before the official hand-over day, people gathered in Baghdad’s largest park to celebrate the pullout. Popular singers living abroad came home for the occasion.

The Iraqi government took control of the former defence ministry building in Bagdad, on Monday.

Some US forces will remain in urban areas as trainers and advisors, mostly deferring to their Iraqi commanders. The majority of the 131,000 US troops in Iraq will be stationed on the outskirts of Baghdad and Mosul.

The next deadline is August 2010, when the US combat mission in Iraq is to end. According to the timeline agreed to by the US and Iraq, US troops must leave by 2012.