ID :
182429
Mon, 05/16/2011 - 12:21
Auther :

Iraqis Overjoyed at Withdrawal of US Forces from Karbala

TEHRAN, May 16 (FNA)- The Iraqi people in the holy city of Karbala expressed overwhelming joy as they celebrated withdrawal of the United States' occupying forces from their Southern province.
The Iraqis cheered up after Karbala was declared as the first Iraqi province free from occupation.

Amaleddin al-Hor, the governor of Karbala described the day as "a national and historic event", and told FNA, "It is a great honor for the people in Karbala province that their province is named as the first clean province in Iraq."

Late in April, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that Iraq no more needs the US forces to protect its internal security, and underlined that his government will not bow to the pressures exerted on Baghdad to accept an extended US military mission in the country.

"The Iraqi government and parliament will not heed foreign pressures when making their decision on this issue and they will do what is to the interests of the Iraqi nation," Maliki said during a press conference in Baghdad in April.

Asked if the US forces will leave Iraq based on the security pact between the two countries, he said, "The issue is still being studied and the government and parliament will decide about it in the near future after studying all the relevant aspects."

Meantime, media reports said that the US has pressed senior Iraqi officials to revise their decision on the US pullout and demand Washington to keep its troops in the country beyond their scheduled departure in the yearend.





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