Iraqi Forces Take Over Cities as U.S. Steps Back

While some Iraqis fear the first step in a full U.S. withdrawal may leave them open to attack, the government declared "National Sovereignty Day" and Baghdad held a giant party to mark the milestone.

"This day, which we consider a national celebration, is an achievement made by all Iraqis," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in a televised address, as citizens drove around the streets with flags and plastic flowers draped over their cars, according to media reports.

"Our incomplete sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops is the most serious legacy we have inherited (from Saddam). Those who think that Iraqis are unable to defend their country are committing a fatal mistake."

By the end of Tuesday, all U.S. combat units must have withdrawn from urban areas and redeployed to rural bases, according to a bilateral security pact that requires all U.S. troops except for trainers and advisers to leave Iraq by the end of 2011. U.S.-led combat operations are due to end by September 2010.

But hours before Tuesday's pullback deadline, the U.S. military said four U.S. soldiers based in Baghdad had died of combat-related injuries on Monday. It gave no further details.

Iraqi and U.S. troops have been on alert for insurgent attacks during the handover.

"While more than 130,000 U.S. troops remain in the country, patrols by heavily armed soldiers in hulking vehicles have largely disappeared from Baghdad, Mosul and Iraq's other urban centers," the Washington Post reported. "Iraqis danced in the streets and set off fireworks overnight in impromptu celebrations of a pivotal moment in their nation's troubled history."

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said U.S. troops had closed or returned to local control 120 bases and facilities, and would turn over or close another 30 by the end of Tuesday.

"It really is a sovereignty day," Balqis Eidan, a 30-year-old Iraqi state employee told the New York Times. "I agreed with Maliki. It is a very important day in our history. But we are still worried about security. We hope that our forces will be able to handle security. The way will be a long one."

Across Baghdad, signs were draped on the ubiquitous concrete blast walls reading "Iraq: my nation, my glory, my honor."

Maliki has compared the U.S. pullback to rebellions by Iraqi tribes against the former British empire in 1920. Many Iraqis see it as restoring their national pride.

While Tuesday marked a day of national celebration, Iraq still faces myriad challenges to its safety and stability.

On Tuesday, Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, accused Iran of continuing to support and train militants who are carrying out attacks, including most of the ones in Baghdad.

"Iran is still supporting, funding and training surrogates inside Iraq," Odierno told reporters at his base outside Baghdad, according to news agencies. "I think many of the attacks in Baghdad are in fact done by individuals supported by Iran."

On Monday, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill said he was concerned about military reports showing that illegal arms continue to flow into Iraq from Iran, although he could not say if they had been reduced or increased amid the recent security gains.

"Certainly we've seen examples of this which are not consistent with a good neighbor policy," he told the Associated Press.

The U.S. military accuses Iran of backing Shiite militias in Iraq with training and weapons and says it remains a major threat to Iraq's stability. Tehran denies allegations that it is supporting violence in Iraq.

In the past week, militants have stepped up attacks in Iraq, including two of the biggest bombings in more than a year, which killed 150 people between them. But the violence that brought Iraq to the brink of all-out sectarian civil war in 2006-2007 has receded.

Still, the political situation remains unsettled. Tensions have grown between Baghdad and the minority Kurds in Iraq's north, and all eyes will now be on a parliamentary election in January that will test Maliki and Iraq's fledgling democracy.

The troop deadline coincides with the government's first major energy tender since 2003. Scores of foreign oil executives have flown into Baghdad for a chance to bid for major fields in Iraq, which has the world's third largest oil reserves.

The country's long-awaited licensing round to develop some of its massive oil reserves stumbled Tuesday as oil and gas companies dug in their heels, demanding more money for their efforts than the government was willing to pay.

But by midday, only one of six oil and two gas fields had been awarded and several others drew limited to no interest.