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US to cut 12,000 troops in Iraq by September

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-09 08:29

Relatives carry a coffin with a body of a policeman killed in a suicide bombing outside the police academy in Baghdad, Iraq, March 8, 2009. [Agencies]

"We were feeling secure as we were waiting in a well-guarded area," said Fadhel, 24. "Before the explosion occurred I heard a loud shout saying, 'Stop, stop, where are you going?' Seconds later, a huge explosion shook the area."

He added, "I am just wondering how a big security breach can occur in such a secured area."

No group claimed responsibility for the blast, but suicide bombings are the signature attack of Sunni religious extremists, including al-Qaida.

Iraqi officials provided conflicting casualty tolls, as is common in the chaotic aftermath of bombings.

Three medical officials and one police officer in the area said 32 were killed, including 19 recruits, nine policemen and four traffic police, with about 60 others wounded.

An Interior Ministry official said the death toll was 28 and 57 were wounded. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

Extremists increasingly have targeted Iraqi forces as they take over the country's security so American troops can go home. Last week, President Obama announced the end of all combat missions in Iraq by the end of August 2010, leaving up to 50,000 US soldiers to train and assist Iraqi security forces. All US troops are to leave Iraq by the end of 2011.

Currently there are about 135,000 US troops in Iraq, and their withdrawal will be gradual at first to leave most in place for parliamentary elections at the end of this year. The 12,000 troops, which make up two of 14 combat brigades in Iraq, will not be replaced.

Still, troop levels in Iraq are more than double what the Obama administration is sending to Afghanistan, where as many as 55,000 soldiers will be stationed by this summer.

In an interview Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki predicted the US withdrawal would be "responsible" and said Iraqi military and police still need weapons "in order to protect the internal security situation in the first place."

"We, the Iraqi government, feel that the Iraqi security forces are capable of filling any vacuum created by he withdrawal of the US forces," Maliki told Iraqi government television.

At the news conference, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraqi security forces should be able to secure the country by the end of 2011.

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