.Iraq to mark US pullback from cities with holiday
BAGHDAD (AP) - The Iraqi government on Tuesday declared a public holiday to mark next week's withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Baghdad and other cities.
American forces already have begun pulling back from outposts inside the cities ahead of a June 30 deadline, the first phase of a full withdrawal by the end of 2011.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Tuesday that ceremonies will be held on Monday and the deadline itself will be a public holiday, although students will still have to take their final exams as scheduled.
The announcement comes days after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the U.S. withdrawal from the cities a "great victory," despite fears that violence will increase after the Americans become less visible.
The stakes are high for al-Maliki's Shiite-led government to prove it is capable of taking care of its people ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 30.
Overall violence has declined drastically over the past two years, but a series of recent high-profile bombings have raised concerns about the readiness of Iraqi forces to provide security around the country without the immediate help of the U.S. troops remaining in Iraq.
According to a security pact that came into force in January, most of the American troops will be housed on large bases outside the capital and other cities - unable to react unless called on for help by the Iraqis.
Many Iraqis oppose the presence of the Americans, whom they consider an occupying force, and military officials hope the withdrawal timeline will help stem support for the insurgency.
Separately, an Iraqi civilian was killed and another wounded Tuesday morning when a U.S. vehicle hit their motorcycle that had stalled on a road near the U.S. detention facility Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, the military said.
Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a spokesman for U.S. forces in southern Iraq, said it was a "tragic accident."
Iraqi police are investigating the incident, the statement said.
Shiite lawmakers loyal to an anti-U.S. cleric also demanded Tuesday that parliament summon Iraq's defense minister to answer allegations that four men were killed by attackers in Iraqi army uniforms in Baghdad's former militia stronghold of Sadr City.
The Iraqi military has denied its forces were involved, but the dispute has threatened to raise tensions in the capital's main Shiite district over purported human rights violations by government security forces.
The lawmakers, part of a bloc loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, claimed that men appearing to be Iraqi soldiers stormed two houses in Sadr City a week ago and arrested four men. The men's bullet-riddled bodies were found the next day in the street.
Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, the main Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, denied army involvement in the raid and blamed "a terrorist group" for abducting and killing the four men. An investigation has been ordered, he said in a statement.
Sadrist lawmaker Maha al-Douri said the gunmen could not have entered Sadr City without the knowledge of the Iraqi army's 11th Division, which controls the area.
"This division is either infiltrated or lax," al-Douri said.
U.S. forces had maintained a presence at bases on the edge of the sprawling district but have begun pulling out ahead of the withdrawal deadline.
The incident comes amid complaints led by al-Sadr's followers over the treatment of detainees at the hands of Iraqi security forces following allegations of widespread abuse and torture in Iraqi prisons.
MyWay
American forces already have begun pulling back from outposts inside the cities ahead of a June 30 deadline, the first phase of a full withdrawal by the end of 2011.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Tuesday that ceremonies will be held on Monday and the deadline itself will be a public holiday, although students will still have to take their final exams as scheduled.
The announcement comes days after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the U.S. withdrawal from the cities a "great victory," despite fears that violence will increase after the Americans become less visible.
The stakes are high for al-Maliki's Shiite-led government to prove it is capable of taking care of its people ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 30.
Overall violence has declined drastically over the past two years, but a series of recent high-profile bombings have raised concerns about the readiness of Iraqi forces to provide security around the country without the immediate help of the U.S. troops remaining in Iraq.
According to a security pact that came into force in January, most of the American troops will be housed on large bases outside the capital and other cities - unable to react unless called on for help by the Iraqis.
Many Iraqis oppose the presence of the Americans, whom they consider an occupying force, and military officials hope the withdrawal timeline will help stem support for the insurgency.
Separately, an Iraqi civilian was killed and another wounded Tuesday morning when a U.S. vehicle hit their motorcycle that had stalled on a road near the U.S. detention facility Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, the military said.
Lt. Col. Kevin Olson, a spokesman for U.S. forces in southern Iraq, said it was a "tragic accident."
Iraqi police are investigating the incident, the statement said.
Shiite lawmakers loyal to an anti-U.S. cleric also demanded Tuesday that parliament summon Iraq's defense minister to answer allegations that four men were killed by attackers in Iraqi army uniforms in Baghdad's former militia stronghold of Sadr City.
The Iraqi military has denied its forces were involved, but the dispute has threatened to raise tensions in the capital's main Shiite district over purported human rights violations by government security forces.
The lawmakers, part of a bloc loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, claimed that men appearing to be Iraqi soldiers stormed two houses in Sadr City a week ago and arrested four men. The men's bullet-riddled bodies were found the next day in the street.
Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, the main Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, denied army involvement in the raid and blamed "a terrorist group" for abducting and killing the four men. An investigation has been ordered, he said in a statement.
Sadrist lawmaker Maha al-Douri said the gunmen could not have entered Sadr City without the knowledge of the Iraqi army's 11th Division, which controls the area.
"This division is either infiltrated or lax," al-Douri said.
U.S. forces had maintained a presence at bases on the edge of the sprawling district but have begun pulling out ahead of the withdrawal deadline.
The incident comes amid complaints led by al-Sadr's followers over the treatment of detainees at the hands of Iraqi security forces following allegations of widespread abuse and torture in Iraqi prisons.
MyWay
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