Baghdad residents wake up to city free of US troops (News Feature)

By Kadhem al-Attabi Jul 1, 2009, 12:04 GMT

Baghdad - Intisar Khazaal, a 43-year-old civil servant, could scarcely believe her eyes when she woke up on Wednesday to find no US soldiers on the streets of Baghdad.

'This is the first day I feel that Iraq has been liberated from the US occupation,' she told the German Press Agency dpa. 'The disappearance of US soldiers from the streets is a wonderful sight after six years. We will maintain this historic achievement.'

'I kept anxiously looking for any US soldiers on my way to work this morning. Thank God, I didn't see any, and this gave me such joy,' she said.

While the streets were free of US troops, they were still full of armoured cars, checkpoints, and patrols - all manned by Iraqi security forces.

Some 160,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen remained on high alert Wednesday following the biggest deployment of Iraqi security forces in the six years since the US-led invasion. Tens of thousands of additional soldiers patrolled the streets of other cities across the country.

Despite that vigilance, at least 26 people were killed by a car bomb in the disputed northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Tuesday evening. Dozens more were injured in the blast, which tore through a predominantly Kurdish neighbourhood of the city at the end of a day of celebrations.

The bombing came soon after Arabic news channel al-Jazeera aired a statement purportedly from Ezzat Ibrahim al-Duri, Saddam Hussein's former right-hand man, celebrating the withdrawal as 'a glorious, historic victory,' and vowing to 'continue to escalate the fighting until our country is fully liberated.'

More than 130,000 US soldiers will remain in Iraq, including a few in urban areas. The US military commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, told reporters the number of US soldiers still in Iraqi cities and towns would vary 'day-to-day, based on the mission.'

'We will continue to reduce the risks and threats to security,' Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani said. 'I do not think anyone would dare to disrupt the withdrawal of US forces at this stage.'

'The armed groups and militias can no longer contend with the Iraqi army,' Haitham Fahmi, a 33-year-old police officer, told dpa. 'People will not give (militants) sanctuary, because they are convinced that the Iraqi security forces are there to defend them.'

'Today, I am proud to be part of the Iraqi forces, taking the lead on security after the withdrawal of US troops. Protecting the sovereignty and security of Iraq will be an unforgettable job.'