1st LD: Iraqi authorities lift curfew in Baghdad

The Iraqi authorities on Thursday decided to lift daily night-time curfew in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad starting from Saturday night, a government statement said.

The removal of the curfew is considered as a sign of security improvement in the Iraqi capital, after about six months of Abadi's appointment as prime minister.

The decision was made after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited Baghdad Operations Command (BOC), which is responsible for the security of the capital late Wednesday night, a BOC statement said.

During the visit, Abadi, also the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi forces, held a meeting with Staff Lieutenant General Abdul Amir and Shimary, BOC commander, and other senior security officials, and discussed the security situation in Baghdad, the statement said.

The meeting came out with a decision to lift the curfew imposed on the Iraqi capital for years.

The statement also said that Abadi ordered to disarm some of Baghdad's districts of Kadhmiyah, Adhamiyah, Mansour, Karrada and Saidiyah.

A security officer told Xinhua that the disarmament means to impose restrictions, including removing security checkpoints, except at the entrances of the districts.

According to the source, the restrictions would also be imposed on the number of guards and their weapons in the offices of political parties, and on houses of senior officials inside the districts. Endit