U.S. hands over ‘Green Zone’ to Iraq
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:51 amU.S. hands over ‘Green Zone’ to Iraq
Posted: 07:04 AM ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The U.S. military formally handed authority over Baghdad’s “Green Zone” to Iraqi authorities Thursday as new pacts governing the mission of international troops replaced a U.N. mandate.
Iraqi troops took over checkpoints around the heavily protected district, formally known as the international zone, which houses Iraqi government offices and the U.S. Embassy. Saddam Hussein’s Republican Palace, which served as U.S. headquarters in Baghdad after the 2003 invasion that ousted Iraq’s longtime strongman, was among the facilities handed over in Thursday’s ceremony.
Thursday marked the first day of a U.S.-Iraqi pact that allows U.S. forces to remain in the country until 2011, under tighter restrictions. Similar agreements have been signed with other coalition countries that remain in Iraq beyond Wednesday, when a U.N. mandate that authorized international forces in the country expired.
Posted: 07:04 AM ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The U.S. military formally handed authority over Baghdad’s “Green Zone” to Iraqi authorities Thursday as new pacts governing the mission of international troops replaced a U.N. mandate.
Iraqi troops took over checkpoints around the heavily protected district, formally known as the international zone, which houses Iraqi government offices and the U.S. Embassy. Saddam Hussein’s Republican Palace, which served as U.S. headquarters in Baghdad after the 2003 invasion that ousted Iraq’s longtime strongman, was among the facilities handed over in Thursday’s ceremony.
Thursday marked the first day of a U.S.-Iraqi pact that allows U.S. forces to remain in the country until 2011, under tighter restrictions. Similar agreements have been signed with other coalition countries that remain in Iraq beyond Wednesday, when a U.N. mandate that authorized international forces in the country expired.