The Iraqi security forces imposed traffic curfew and intensify security measures in the capital Baghdad, as the country's soccer team due to play the final of the Asian Cup on Sunday, said an Iraqi military spokesman.
"We have decided to impose traffic ban starting from 4:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Sunday to 6:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Monday," Brigadier General Qasim al-Moussawi told local TV.
According to the spokesman, the curfew will take effect 35 minutes ahead of the final, aimed at preventing militants and terrorists from attacking football fans when they would be celebrating the achievements of the Iraqi national team.
The security forces were preparing for "expected terrorist attacks on fans," he stressed.
The Asian final match between Iraqi and Saudi Arabia is expected to kick off in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, at 4:35 p. m. (1235 GMT).
Elsewhere, the Iraqi authorities in the northern city of Mosul also imposed a traffic ban on the city for fear of chaos or even attacks against fans, Duraid Kashmoulah, the governor of Nineveh province which Mosul is its capital.
"We have decided to impose traffic ban on the city of Mosul from 3:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Sunday to 6:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Monday," Kashmoulah told Xinhua.
Also in the city of Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, authorities announced a three-hour vehicle curfew from 6:00 p.m. ( 1400 GMT) to 9:00 p.m. (1700 GMT).
On Wednesday, two suicide car bombings struck Iraqi soccer fans in Baghdad, who took to the streets to celebrate Iraq's historic achievements in the Asian Cup.
At least 55 people were killed and 135 others injured in the tragedy, which came after Iraq defeated South Korea 4-3 on penalties and made it into the 14th Asian Cup final.
On July 21 when the Iraqi national team cruised into the semi- finals of the Asian Cup, gunfire of celebrations killed two people and wounded 15 others in Baghdad.
Source: Xinhua
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