Iraqi policemen stand guard at a checkpoint in Baghdad June 29, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
A well-known to Iraqis local singer rhapsodized the U.S. troops' exit from his beloved Baghdad city as he sang a song that made thousands of cheered Iraqis cried with tears during a massive celebration in Baghdad on Monday.
Salah Hassan, an Iraqi singer in his thirties, vocalized his happiness to return to Baghdad he loved and said he will walk in its old and popular street of Saadoun as he and all Baghdadis used to do before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
"I am here to celebrate the great and historic day. I came to share the pleasure of my people," Hassan, who lives abroad told Xinhua as he was heading to the stage in Zawraa Park, the biggest in the Iraqi capital.
Jubilant people have to pass checkpoints and endure tight security, where banners declared that Iraq's sovereignty and independence have been accomplished for Iraqis, while other banners praised the hope for better future saying "at the day of sovereignty, we light the candles of joy so we can build better future."
Suhaiylah, a 60-year-old woman, said she heard about the massive celebration from the television and brought a five-year-old boy who is the son of her daughter that was killed with her husband in one of the deadly car bombings in Baghdad six months ago.
"My daughter left for me five of her sons, this is one of them. She was a poor woman who worked hard with her husband at their stall in Bab al-Sharji area when the blast took them away," Suhaiylah said with tears filling in her eyes.
"I came here to celebrate the exit of U.S. soldiers, and I brought this orphan boy to remember this day in the future which I believe is the day of new life. I feel it is time to look forward for better future," Suhaiylah said.
Dozens of children wearing colorful clothes and some holding colored balloons came to the park and joined the celebration called on by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to celebrate the "great victory" of the foreign troops' pullout.
Rawnaq Mohammed and her husband, in their twenties, were pushing the stroller of their two-month-old daughter Masarah. They approached the celebration spot but not very close because they don't want their little daughter to be annoyed by the loud voices.
"I am very glad that I won't see the American vehicles any more. Today is the day we get back our pride and dignity," Mohammed told Xinhua.
Asked whether she has confident that Iraqi security forces can handle the situation after the U.S. troops' departure, she said "I heard that violence could increase with their departure, but we have to trust our security forces, otherwise, there would be no hope for us."
Soldiers of Iraqi security forces patrol the streets in Baghdad, capital of Iraq, on June 28, 2009. (Xinhua/Gao Shan)
"We are really glad because even if it is not for ourselves, there should be a hope for our daughter," said Mohammed's husband, pointing to the stroller his daughter sitting in.
Muaiyad al-Lami, head of Iraqi Journalists Union, told Xinhua that "I am happy and I feel that all people around are happy because regaining our sovereignty is a tangible step towards independence and better future."
However, Tahsin al-Shiekhli, Baghdad Civil Defense spokesman, said, "although we are happy today, we know that Iraq's enemies will try to disrupt stability and we will be ready to stop them."
Earlier, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned that militant groups will work hard to step up attacks to reverse the security gains, calling on Iraqis to unite to stop them.
"They (the militant groups) are preparing themselves to move in the dark to destabilize the situation, but, with God's will, you and I will be ready for them," Maliki said.
Violence in Iraq has dropped dramatically in recent months, but deadly attacks are still common in the Iraqi cities, casting doubts on the ability of Iraqi security forces to take over from U.S. troops the task of controlling security and defeating insurgency of both Shiite and Sunni militant groups in the war-torn country.
As part of a security pact signed between Baghdad and Washington last year, U.S. troops will withdraw from Iraqi cities, towns and villages by June 30, 2009 to their bases, and will leave the country on Dec. 31, 2011.
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