politburo diktat 2.0

Iraq shuts down Baghdad with curfew

No reason given for capital’s curfew, explosions continue in oil-rich Kirkuk and Iskanderia.

Iraq’s government shut down the capital with a one-day curfew on Saturday, ordering all cars and pedestrians off the streets and giving no reason for the measure.

As dawn broke, streets in the centre of the capital were quiet. US helicopters periodically flew overhead.

The curfew would remain in place until 6:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Sunday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office said in a one-line statement. The US military did not comment.

Outside Baghdad, a car bomb in front of a police colonel’s house in the northern oil city of Kirkuk wounded 10 people, police sources said. A roadside bomb in Iskanderiya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad killed one person and wounded four.

SURGE IN VIOLENCE

The Baghdad curfew came at the end of a week of clashes and bombings that heralded the start of the holy month of Ramadan. US commanders say the past week saw a record number of suicide bombings and the last two weeks have seen a surge in violence.

Although no explanation was given for the curfew, residents of the Adamiya neighbourhood in the north of the capital said they heard gunfire and explosions near dusk on Friday.

US and Iraqi forces have launched a seven-week-old security crackdown in the capital, targeting scattered neighbourhoods for sweeps. But Sunni and Shi’ite militia have clashed in several parts of the city over recent days.

Zeyad has more.