4 US soldiers killed on eve of pullout

Hürriyet Daily News with wires

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Iraq was celebrating a national holiday to mark the June 30 pullback, a milestone in the recovery of a country battered by war, insurgency and sectarian bloodshed that has left tens of thousands of people dead since 2003.

Iraqis had celebrated into Monday night, but soldiers and police were out in force to prevent insurgent groups from spoiling the party as American troops quit their posts in urban centers ahead of complete pullout by the end of 2011.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, however, said the nation's joy at the handover was mixed with sorrow for "beloved friends and relatives" who had been "targeted by terror." He also took aim at critics of Iraq's military and police and insisted they were up to the task of defending the country in the wake of the U.S. pullback. "It is a big mistake for people to think that the Iraqis will not handle the security issue," al-Maliki was quoted by Agence France-Presse news agency.

In the attack Monday against U.S. forces, it was said the four soldiers who were killed served with the Multi-National Division-Baghdad but did not provide further details.

The U.S. military did not provide further details pending notification of their families. It said they died as a "result of combat related injuries."

A recent deadly attack against U.S. forces was May 21, when three soldiers were killed and nine wounded in a roadside bombing in Baghdad, according to a count by The Associated Press.

There has been a significant spike in violence before the June 30 withdrawal. More than 250 people were killed in a series of bombings, including one on June 20 that left 81 dead outside a mosque in northern Iraq and another in a Baghdad market on June 24 that killed 78. Al-Maliki has blamed the attacks on al-Qaeda in Iraq and the remnants of Saddam Hussein's Baath party.

The Iraqi government has named June 30 as National Sovereignty Day and declared a public holiday. President Jalal Talabani said the day could not have happened without the help of the United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 and ousted Saddam Ğ who was later convicted by an Iraqi court and executed in December 2006.

"While we celebrate this day, we express our thanks and gratitude to our friends in the coalition forces who faced risks and responsibilities and sustained casualties and damage while helping Iraq to get rid from the ugliest dictatorship and during the joint effort to impose security and stability," Talabani said.

Describing June 30 as a "glorious page" in Iraq's history he warned that "security will not be achieved completely without the proper political environment and without a real national unity and reconciliation."

Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters he believed Iraq was now a better country. "I believe the Iraqi people are much better off not having a dictator such as Saddam Hussein in charge," he said. "They are now going to be able to see that they can move ahead and the people of Iraq will have a say in their government."

Across Baghdad, tanks and armored vehicles manned by soldiers and police were decorated with flags and banners, as nationalistic songs and popular music played.

"We are happy to receive the security responsibilities and we are able to totally protect our citizens," said policeman Ibrahim al-Mashhadani. Abu Mustapha, a carpenter, added: "I believe that the security of the nation will improve when the U.S. forces leave."

Tuesday's pullback is part of a landmark security agreement signed last November between Baghdad and Washington covering the fate of the 133,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq.