Iraq on alert ahead of US troop pullback

BAGHDAD: Iraq cancelled leave for all its police and put them on high alert on Sunday ahead of the withdrawal of US combat forces from Iraqi towns and cities at the end of the month, an official said.

The US pullback from urban centres has been seen as a milestone on the country’s road to sovereignty six years after the US military invaded to topple Saddam Hussein. But a string of bombings in Baghdad and northern Iraq this week, including two of the bloodiest attacks for more than a year, have shaken the confidence of Iraqis in their own forces.

“The alert has gone to all of our forces. There will be no days off. They are at their full strength across the whole country, at 100%,” said Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, spokesman for the interior ministry, which controls the police.