Tikrit, Iraq - Mortar blast at ceremony attended by US ambassador in Iraq

AFP via Babelfish translation -

A shell explodes during a ceremony in the presence of Khalilzad

TIKRIT (Iraq) - a shell exploded Tuesday during the ceremony of handing-over of the palates of Saddam Hussein with Tikrit (north of Baghdad) with the Iraqis, to which in particular the ambassador of the United States Zalmay Khalilzad assisted, making a light casualty, correspondents of AFP noted.

The commander of the American forces in Iraq, the General George Casey, and of the Iraqi persons in charge, whose governor of the province of Salaheddine Hamad Mahmoud Al-Qaïssi and Minister for Justice Abdel Hussein Chandal, were also present.

The shell exploded near the place where the ceremony proceeded, which had just started, sowing panic among the participants, according to these sources.

A person was slightly touched and the ceremony was stopped.

Complex of Tikrit, which shelters 136 masonries including 18 palate on banks of the Tiger, was used as a basis soldier American since the fall of the mode of Saddam Hussein in April 2003. Tikrit, was the native area and the stronghold of the former president.

"the handing-over of the complex to the Iraqi ministry of Finances and the governorship (of Salaheddine, whose Tikrit is the chief town) will be an important event which shows the growing capacity of the Iraqi government car-to be managed", had declared Monday colonel Billy Buckner, military spokesman American.

The American General Joseph Taluto had estimated on his side, in an official statement at the beginning of November, that "this place which belonged to an elite will be soon a place for the Iraqi people".

Insurgents Fire Mortar at Iraqi Palace

By ZAKI MAHMOUD
Associated Press Writer
TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) -- Insurgents fired a mortar at a ceremony attended by top U.S. officials on Tuesday to hand over a presidential palace in Saddam Hussein's hometown to local Iraqi authorities, sending the U.S. ambassador scrambling for cover but causing no injuries.
As a U.S. colonel was giving a speech, the mortar round fell about 300 yards from the palace in Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, briefly went inside the palace following the blast, but emerged a few minutes later to continue the ceremony.
Afterward, they took a tour through the building, which Saddam ordered built for his mother in 1991 and is considered the largest and most elaborate of the palaces built during his rule.
The palace is part of a complex on more than 1,000 acres overlooking the Tigris River. There are 136 buildings on the property, with a combined 1.5 million square feet of administrative and living space, including 18 palaces, the U.S. command said in a statement before the ceremony.
"The planned turnover of the complex to the Iraqi Ministry of Finance and the provincial government will be a landmark event highlighting the increased capability of the Iraqi government to administer and govern itself," Col. Billy J. Buckner, Multi-National Corps-Iraq spokesman, said in the statement.
Since it was taken over by U.S. troops in 2003, it has served as a division headquarters for U.S. forces based in the region.
"Although 28 other coalition operating bases have already been turned over to Iraqi Security Forces control this year, the Tikrit Palace complex is the most significant transition of real estate thus far," the U.S. statement said.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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