US-trained Iraqi troops taking over Georgian base

Source: Miami Herald

US-trained Iraqi troops taking over Georgian base
Posted on Fri, Aug. 15, 2008
By KIM GAMEL
Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD -- Iraqi security forces are taking over checkpoints near the Iranian border that had been manned by Georgian troops until they departed for their country's conflict with Russia, the U.S. military said Friday.

Shiite pilgrims, meanwhile, faced more violence as they headed toward the holy city of Karbala for a major religious festival.

A roadside bomb struck a minibus beginning the trip in eastern Baghdad Friday morning, killing at least one passenger and wounding 10 others, a police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

The attack came a day after a female suicide bomber struck Shiite pilgrims resting by the side of a road south of Baghdad in Iskandariyah, killing at least 18 people and wounding 75. The U.S. military said 18 people were killed, but Iraqi police in the area gave a higher death toll of 26.



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