BAGHDAD, Iraq - Five roadside bombs killed at least three people in Iraq on Sunday — the three-year anniversary of the Baghdad's fall to U.S. forces. Iraq police and soldiers bolstered security in the capital to prevent attacks on "Freedom Day."
The holiday marks the April 9, 2003 event in which a huge crowd of Iraqis cheered as U.S. Marines hauled down the statue of Saddam Hussein on Firdous Square, marking the collapse of his regime.
American troops killed eight suspected insurgents in a pre-dawn raid north of the capital. Drivers in the capital were stopped and searched by Iraqi forces at extra checkpoints in the city.
Most Iraqis welcomed the end of Saddam's regime, but the insurgency, militias, rising sectarian violence, electricity shortages and political vacuum have all sapped much of the enthusiasm generated by the collapse of dictatorship.
"Iraqis are pleased and displeased," said Qassim Hassan, a soldier. "They are pleased because they got rid of tyranny and dictatorship, but they are displeased because they went from bad to worse. The Iraqi street is seething between sadness and terrorism."
So within a three years, the Iraqis went from throwing flowers at the feet of American troops, to throwing bombs at them.
Happy Freedom Day!
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