DES MOINES, Iowa About 700 Iowa Army National Guard soldiers are coming home and celebrations are being planned in a dozen towns.
National Guard spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Hapgood says ceremonies will be held tomorrow (Monday) at Camp Dodge in Des Moines, in Fort Dodge, Carroll, North Liberty, Davenport and Cedar Rapids. Ceremonies are also planned in Cedar Falls, Denison, Corning and Sioux City tomorrow.
The ceremonies begin tomorrow morning at 7:15 at Camp Dodge and will be held at varous times throughout the day, with the final one scheduled for 7:45 tomorrow night in Sioux City.
On Tuesday, soldiers returning home to Shenandoah will be honored at 11:30 a-m and Council Bluffs will hold a ceremony at noon.
Hapgood says the soldiers will be released to their families after the events.
The soldiers left home in February of 2004 for Fort Hood, Texas. They have been in Afghanistan for the past 13 months.
A senior Iraqi official managed to survive an assassination attempt in Baquba, after an improvised explosive device, or IED, detonated near him on his way to work.
Ali Hasani Ali, a city council member and city manager, walked away from the incident with only slight injuries.
Baquba is located 60 miles north of Baghdad.
In a separate incident, another IED believed to be targeting a US military convoy exploded on a Baghdad street. No casualties were reported.
American troops sealed off the area and searched for other explosives.