Fireworks over Baghdad as Iraqis take over cities

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces assumed formal control of Baghdad and other cities on Tuesday after American troops handed over security in urban areas in a defining step toward ending the U.S. combat role in the country.

A countdown clock broadcast on Iraqi TV ticked to zero as the midnight deadline passed for combat troops to pull back.

Fireworks, not bombings, colored the Baghdad skyline late Monday, and thousands attended a party in a park where singers performed patriotic songs. Loudspeakers at police stations and military checkpoints played recordings of similar tunes throughout the day, as Iraqi military vehicles decorated with flowers and national flags patrolled the capital.

"All of us are happy — Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds on this day," Waleed al-Bahadili said as he celebrated at the park. "The Americans harmed and insulted us too much."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a public holiday and proclaimed June 30 as "National Sovereignty Day."

All but a small number of American soldiers have already left Baghdad and other urban areas for bases outside cities ahead of the withdrawal deadline.

Iraqi officials formally took control of the cities at midnight, a handover that filled many citizens with pride but also trepidation that government forces are not ready and that violence will rise. Shiites fear more bombings by Sunni militants; Sunnis fear that the Shiite-dominated Iraqi security forces will give them little protection.

Sadiq al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to al-Maliki, said Iraq has entered a new phase.

"The withdrawal of American troops is completed now from all cities after everything they sacrificed for the sake of security," he told The Associated Press. "We are now celebrating the restoration of sovereignty."

If the Iraqis can hold down violence in the coming months, it will show the country is finally on the road to stability. If they fail, it will pose a challenge to President Barack Obama's pledge to end an unpopular war that has claimed the lives of more than 4,300 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis.

The gathering at the Baghdad park was unprecedented in size for such a postwar event in a city where people tend to avoid large gatherings for fear of suicide bombers. They ignored an appeal by Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi to stay away from crowded places during the U.S. pullback, which has seen more than 250 people killed in bombings over the past 10 days.

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