Iraq reopens Baghdad’s Green Zone to public

CAIRO _ Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi Sunday reopened the heavily fortified Green Zone in the capital Baghdad to the public for the first time in 12 years, his office said.tmpplchld The Green Zone, home to government buildings and several foreign embassies, was closed to the public after the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq.tmpplchld “The reopening of the Green Zone is part of the measures we promised to our citizens,” al-Abadi was quoted as saying by the independent Iraqi website Alsumaria News.tmpplchld Private cars drove into the area in central Baghdad shortly after its reopening, according to the site.tmpplchld Iraqi authorities this year lifted a decade-old nighttime curfew in Baghdad despite a surge in attacks targeting mostly Shiite areas in the city.tmpplchld Most attacks have been claimed by the Sunni radical Islamic State militia, which controls much of Iraq.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany)tmpplchld Visit Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (Hamburg, Germany) at www.dpa.de/English.82.0.htmltmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld