Bombproof.comHistoric Sovereignty Day For Iraq January 1st 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,474847,00.html
The U.S. formally transferred control of the Green Zone to Iraqi authorities Thursday in a pair of ceremonies that also handed back Saddam Hussein's former palace. Iraq's prime minister said he will propose making Jan. 1 a holiday marking the restoration of sovereignty.
Under the new security agreement between Washington and Baghdad to replace a U.N. mandate for foreign troops in Iraq, the Iraqi government also now has control of American troops' operations and of the country's airspace.
The moves came amid a dramatic fall in violence over the past year. However, insurgents still stage daily attacks and there are worries insurgents may try to expand the fight now that U.S. troops cannot take unilateral action.
http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52524
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, 2008 The Sons of Iraq civilian security group led coalition troops to their biggest operations in recent days disarming a bomb at a security checkpoint and finding one of their largest weapons caches to date, military officials reported.
Coalition forces responded to a Sons of Iraq checkpoint to disarm a roadside bomb Dec. 29 in Baghdad's Rashid district. An explosive ordnance disposal unit disarmed the bomb.
Tips from Sons of Iraq members in the Tikrit area led soldiers to several large weapons caches Dec. 29, one of which is the largest discovered since 25th Infantry Division units began arriving in Salahuddin province in November, officials said
In a cache southwest of Samarra, troops found 153 artillery rounds, 130 mortar rounds, 81 rocket rounds, 21 rocket mortars and 36 empty rounds of various munitions that could be used to make homemade bombs.
In another large weapons cache southwest of Samarra, troops found more than 250 munitions, including mortar rounds, high-explosive rounds and propellant charges.
All of the weapons were safely destroyed by explosive ordnance disposal personnel.
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