6/6/2011 12:25 PM
SALAH AL-DIN / Aswat al-Iraq: The final result of a booby-trapped car blast that targeted the Presidential Palaces compound in Tikrit city on Monday, has reached 12 killed and 20 injured, according to a Salah al-Din police command source.
“The attack by a suicide bomber, who blew up a booby-trapped car against the Presidential Palaces compound in central Tikrit, had reached 12 persons killed, among them 4 Army officers and 5 soldiers, along with 20 others injured, including civilians, Army and police men,” the police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
He said that attack took place during celebrations to hand over the mission of protecting the said Presidential Palaces compound to the Iraqi troops.
“The Iraqi and the American troops have closed the entrance of the compound,” he added.
The attack against the Presidential Palaces compound in Tikrit was the second attack of its type over the past 4 days, as a suicide bomber blew himself up in the compound’s al-Farouq Mosque last Friday, killing 19 persons and wounding 72 others, most of them members of the security forces, judges and 2 of the Province’s Council members.
Four other people, including 2 policemen, were killed and 3 others were injured, when another suicide bomber blew himself up in Tikrit’s Teaching hospital on Friday night.
Iraqi Islamic Party’s Legislature, Mutashar Hussein Allawi, escaped an assassination attempt, whilst 3 of his bodyguards were killed in the attack on the hospital.
Tikrit, the center of Salah al-Din Province, is 175 km to the north of Baghdad.
SKH (TR)/SR
Showing posts with label Tikrit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tikrit. Show all posts
Monday, June 06, 2011
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wanted: Investors to turn Saddam's villas into gold
31 Mar 2010 09:58:01 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Sabah al-Bazi
TIKRIT, Iraq, March 31 (Reuters Life!) - Saddam Hussein made his palaces a desert paradise, but now his hometown is seeking foreign investors to turn the late dictator's playground into a tourist mecca.
Local officials see the 76 abandoned Saddam villas sprawled across hundreds of hectares (acres) as a potential gold mine for Tikrit's cash-strapped Salahuddin province.
"These villas only need rehabilitation and a few other things to turn the whole area into a wonderful tourism site," Jewher Hamad al-Fahel, the head of Salahuddin's investment commission, told Reuters Television.
Saddam built big at Tikrit, his tribal stronghold about 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad. He put up six villas at his birthplace, the village of al-Awja, alone and made the Tikrit palace complex his largest.
Boasting artificial lakes and date orchards, the site totals 136 buildings and covers more than 400 hectares (1,000 acres), according to the U.S. Army. American troops used it as a base until turning it over to Iraqi authorities in November 2005.
Now many of the sand-coloured structures, often domed and turreted and with marbled interiors, sit decaying near the Tigris River. Some still show heavy damage from the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Saddam.
SMOOTHING THE WAY
Salahuddin Governor Mutasher Hussein Allawi said he was eager to smooth the way for foreign investment in the villas since his budget was too small to rebuild decrepit infrastructure quickly.
"Iraq needs huge investment companies, because the devastation that took place after 2003 is something terrible", he said.
Foreign tourists to Iraq are overwhelmingly Muslim pilgrims visiting holy sites, with a handful of visitors drawn to ancient ruins.
The number of religious visitors hit 1.25 million last year, more than doubling since 2007 as violence has eased, according to a Tourism and Antiquities Ministry spokesman.
Iraqis seeking an in-country getaway tend to go to mountain areas in the north.
Tikrit's would not be the first Saddam mansion to be turned into a resort. A guesthouse at a hulking palace at Babylon, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, has become a popular spot for honeymooners. [ID:nLN352150]
Central and southern Iraq hold about 160 Saddam mansions, 60 in Baghdad alone. Those in the mainly Kurdish north have yet to be tallied.
On a bustling Tikrit street, resident Abdulla Mohammed said he welcomed foreign investment.
"Salahuddin's security situation is good compared with other provinces, we are upbeat about the future," he said.
Salahuddin province's stance underscores Iraq's eagerness for outside investment. Deputy Industry Minister Adel Karim told Reuters Iraq could offer production-sharing deals with state companies to draw foreign investors. [ID:nKAM332914] (Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, writing by Ian Simpson, editing by Paul Casciato)
Source: Reuters
By Sabah al-Bazi
TIKRIT, Iraq, March 31 (Reuters Life!) - Saddam Hussein made his palaces a desert paradise, but now his hometown is seeking foreign investors to turn the late dictator's playground into a tourist mecca.
Local officials see the 76 abandoned Saddam villas sprawled across hundreds of hectares (acres) as a potential gold mine for Tikrit's cash-strapped Salahuddin province.
"These villas only need rehabilitation and a few other things to turn the whole area into a wonderful tourism site," Jewher Hamad al-Fahel, the head of Salahuddin's investment commission, told Reuters Television.
Saddam built big at Tikrit, his tribal stronghold about 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad. He put up six villas at his birthplace, the village of al-Awja, alone and made the Tikrit palace complex his largest.
Boasting artificial lakes and date orchards, the site totals 136 buildings and covers more than 400 hectares (1,000 acres), according to the U.S. Army. American troops used it as a base until turning it over to Iraqi authorities in November 2005.
Now many of the sand-coloured structures, often domed and turreted and with marbled interiors, sit decaying near the Tigris River. Some still show heavy damage from the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Saddam.
SMOOTHING THE WAY
Salahuddin Governor Mutasher Hussein Allawi said he was eager to smooth the way for foreign investment in the villas since his budget was too small to rebuild decrepit infrastructure quickly.
"Iraq needs huge investment companies, because the devastation that took place after 2003 is something terrible", he said.
Foreign tourists to Iraq are overwhelmingly Muslim pilgrims visiting holy sites, with a handful of visitors drawn to ancient ruins.
The number of religious visitors hit 1.25 million last year, more than doubling since 2007 as violence has eased, according to a Tourism and Antiquities Ministry spokesman.
Iraqis seeking an in-country getaway tend to go to mountain areas in the north.
Tikrit's would not be the first Saddam mansion to be turned into a resort. A guesthouse at a hulking palace at Babylon, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, has become a popular spot for honeymooners. [ID:nLN352150]
Central and southern Iraq hold about 160 Saddam mansions, 60 in Baghdad alone. Those in the mainly Kurdish north have yet to be tallied.
On a bustling Tikrit street, resident Abdulla Mohammed said he welcomed foreign investment.
"Salahuddin's security situation is good compared with other provinces, we are upbeat about the future," he said.
Salahuddin province's stance underscores Iraq's eagerness for outside investment. Deputy Industry Minister Adel Karim told Reuters Iraq could offer production-sharing deals with state companies to draw foreign investors. [ID:nKAM332914] (Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, writing by Ian Simpson, editing by Paul Casciato)
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