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Insurgents Fire Mortar at US-Iraqi Ceremony in Tikrit
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=FE0726:3919ACA Incident happened
as US forces handed over to Iraqi forces control of a former palace
belonging to Saddam Hussein in his hometown of Tikrit





U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, center, is escorted by armed
guards soon after insurgents fired a mortar at a ceremony in Tikrit

Senior U.S. and Iraqi officials had a close call Tuesday, when
insurgents fired a mortar shell at a ceremony they were attending in
northern Iraq. The shell landed near the officials, but did not
explode.

The incident happened as U.S. forces handed over to Iraqi forces
control of a former palace belonging to Saddam Hussein in his hometown
of Tikrit. U.S. troops had been using the building as a headquarters
since 2003.

At the ceremony were U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and General
George Casey, who is the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq.

No one was hurt and the handover continued several minutes later.

Elsewhere, the U.S. military reports that a Marine was killed Monday
during combat operations in western Iraq, near Habbaniyah.

And Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is visiting Iran, where he met with
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

 

 


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