Baghdad - The United States opened its largest embassy
worldwide in Baghdad's Green Zone on Monday, while a series of six
explosions ripped through Baghdad killing one and injuring 27 amidst
events surrounding the commemoration of Muslim holidays.
At the inauguration, Iraqi President Jalal al-Talabani said the US
embassy in Baghdad was 'not only a US government headquarters, but an
expression of amity between the governments and people of the two
countries,' the Voices of Iraq news agency reported.
Also attending the ceremony were US Deputy Secretary of State John
Negroponte, US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and several US
military officials.
Opened amid heavy security, the embassy compound is also said to
be the most expensive embassy that the US has ever built.
Critics of the US military presence in Iraq see the complex as a
'symbol of occupation.'
On Thursday January 1, US forces handed over control of the
fortified Green Zone to Iraqi authorities, five years after the US-
led invasion of the country.
The US also returned late dictator Saddam Hussein's palace, which
had been the US headquarters in the city.
The so-called Green Zone is a fortified base for Western private
military contractors, and is home to the Iraqi parliament and
government, as well as US, British and Australian embassies.
Parallel to the inauguration events, Iraq continued to be rocked
by violence, with half a dozen blasts in Baghdad inflicting further
casualties.
In one blast, a roadside bomb planted near a playground in
Baghdad's Zayouna area killed one civilian and wounded six others.
Another five civilians were wounded in a car bomb explosion in
southern Baghdad, a police source said.
'A car rigged with explosives went off in Abu Dashier region in
southern Baghdad, injuring five civilians,' the source told VOI,
giving no further details.
Another bomb went off near a gas station in eastern Baghdad,
wounding four persons, the source said
Yet another explosion took place in downtown Baghdad when a bomb
was detonated in al-Nidal street. Four civilians were wounded.
Meanwhile, eight persons were wounded when two roadside bombs
detonated near Rasheed Camp in the area between Uqba Bin Nafie Square
and al-Mashn commercial mall in south-eastern Baghdad.
Shiite pilgrims have been a repeated target of extremist Sunni
Muslim groups operating in Iraq, during their annual commemoration of
the 10-day ritual of Ashoura, which culminates with the mourning of
the martyrdom of Imam Hussein Ibn Ali at the battle of Karbala.
A female suicide bomber blew herself up on Sunday, killing at
least 40 people and wounding 79 in the Kadhimiya area of northern
Baghdad. Many of the victims were Iranian pilgrims.
SHAQJan 5th, 2009 - 17:39:03
So sorry to witness another great example of $ 700 +, millions wasted by Bush and Cheney occupation fiasco in Iraq. This Monstrosity of half million square footage cement jungle a reminder of Abu Grab and American hegemony to the world created in our name “Uncle Sam Cabin” by Halliburton. This will once again crumble in the desert in no time just like all their previous ill conceived idiotic plans in Iraq.
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