Baghdad, Iraq Troop Withdrawal | featured news

Baghdad's decision comes on the same day Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, visits Iraq and warns that the US needs to know soon whether a training mission will proceed.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates visited as Baghdad was reeling from bombings and U.S. forces are beginning to prepare for withdrawals this spring.

A series of powerful explosions reverberated across the heart of Baghdad today, killing at least 75 people and wounding more than 300 on the deadliest day in the capital since U.S. forces completed their withdrawal from Iraq's cities on June 30.

Bombs in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 80 on Thursday, police said, just over a week after U.S. troops handed security in city centers to local forces.

Tuesday marks the long-anticipated deadline for American troops to pull out of Iraqi towns and cities, but on Monday, there will be no long lines of tanks rolling out of Baghdad or thousands of troops marching out of other cities.