Calm in Baghdad after end of curfew

Relative calm prevailed in the Iraqi capital Baghdad after lifting the curfew imposed earlier on Baghdad and three adjoining governorates in order to end the acts of sectarianism following the blowing off of the dome of Imam Ali al-Hadi shrine in Samara city last Wednesday.

The curfew which was imposed for three days together with the night curfew succeeded in the halting of the spread of sectarian violence which had threatened to drag Iraq into the eve of the civil war.

The end of the embargo, which froze the movement of transport completely inside Baghdad, came as a response to the statement signed by the prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, whose term of office expired, according to which he decided to lift the curfew as from 6 a.m. Monday morning with the continued implementation of the night curfew until unlimited time.

Despite the continued curfew on Sunday, attacks and explosions in all parts of the country during the past 24 hours claimed the life of 26 Iraqis and three American soldiers.