At Least 3 Killed In Baghdad Bombings

Iraqi security forces secure site of roadside bomb attack in Baghdad, 02 Jul 2009Bombings have killed at least three people in the Baghdad area, the first such violence since U.S. troops withdrew from Iraqi cities.

Authorities say a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi army patrol in the capital Thursday, killing an Iraqi soldier and wounding at least eight others.

Officials say at least two people were killed and 15 others wounded in a car bombing south of Baghdad.

Meanwhile, police in the northern city of Kirkuk said gunmen shot and killed an Iraqi army officer near his home.

Violence in the northern city has surged in recent weeks. On Tuesday, a bombing at a Kirkuk market killed 33 people.

U.S. troops pulled out of Iraqi urban areas on Tuesday - a move Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hailed as a "great victory."

The Iraqi government held military parades and fireworks to mark the occasion, which was named a "Day of National Sovereignty."

U.S. President Barack Obama said the U.S. pull-out from Iraqi cities was an "important milestone," but he warned of difficult days ahead.

The troop withdrawal is part of a U.S.-Iraq security deal that sets a timeline for the pullout of all U.S. forces by the end of 2011. At present, about 130,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq to conduct combat duties outside cities, and to advise Iraqi forces within cities.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.