Baghdad - Thousands of demonstrators loyal to anti-US Shiite cleric Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr staged protests on Friday against the controversial US-Iraq security pact, a day after a heated debate on the agreement in the Iraqi parliament.
Holding flags and chanting slogans, protestors flooded Firdous Square in central Baghdad amid tight security, in opposition to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which paves the way for continued US and coalition presence in Iraq beyond the end of the UN mandate at the end of 2008.
Baghdad , Nov 21 : A new ‘status-of-forces agreement’ between Washington and Baghdad will make it mandatory for the US forces in Iraq to first obtain warrants before searching Iraqi homes or detaining terrorist suspects.
Baghdad - Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Thursday that his country is concerned about violence against Iraq's minorities, especially Christians, during a surprise visit to Iraq.
Iraqi Christians in the northern Mosul city have been subjected to killings and death threats since September, and many thousands have fled the city.
Around 400 Christians fled to Syria in October alone to escape the harsh conditions at home.
The Vatican said in October the Iraqi government needed to do more to protect Christians in Mosul.
Frattini said Iraq's government had taken positive steps to protect Christians.
Washington - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates briefed lawmakers Wednesday on the pending troop agreement with Iraq.
The agreement establishes the legal basis for the future presence of US troops in Iraq, after a UN mandate expires December 31, and calls for the withdrawal of all forces by the end of 2011.
"The security situation has improved so dramatically, and the Iraqi security forces have improved so dramatically that we are confident that if things continue to trend as they have been, our services will not be needed in Iraq come 2012," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters.
Baghdad - An Iraqi parliament session on Wednesday to discuss a security pact between the United States and Iraq was adjourned for a day after lawmakers loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr disrupted the session, Dubai-based channel al-Arabiya reported.
The 275-member house should vote on the so-called Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) before November 24, according to the agreement signed by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on Monday.
The agreement needs parliamentary approval before it can be signed into law by the US and Iraqi presidents.
Sadrists, loyal to the anti-US cleric al-Sadr, holds 30 seats in the parliament, and are the most vocal critics of the deal.
Baghdad - Thousands of demonstrators loyal to anti-US Shiite cleric Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr staged protests on Friday against the controversial US-Iraq security pact, a day after a heated debate on the agreement in the Iraqi parliament.
Baghdad , Nov 21 : A new ‘status-of-forces agreement’ between Washington and Baghdad will make it mandatory for the US forces in Iraq to first obtain warrants before searching Iraqi homes or detaining terrorist suspects.
Baghdad - Five people 
