Bomb kills 30 in N.Iraq as U.S. troops leave

By Tim Cocks and Muhanad Mohammed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Hours after U.S. troops handed over full control of Iraq's cities to its domestic security forces, a car bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 30 people and wounded 65 on Tuesday, police said.

The blast tore through a busy market in a largely Kurdish part of the city, which is seen as a potential flashpoint between ethnic Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen.

The U.S. pullback to rural bases from towns and cities is the first step towards a full U.S. withdrawal by 2012 agreed under a bilateral security pact.

Some Iraqis fear it leaves them open to attack by insurgent groups but many Iraqis celebrated what the government named "National Sovereignty Day", more than six years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

Citizens and Iraqi soldiers drove around the streets of the capital in vehicles draped in flowers and Iraqi flags. Signs were draped on Baghdad's many concrete blast walls reading "Iraq: my nation, my glory, my honour".

"This day, which we consider a national celebration, is an achievement made by all Iraqis," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a televised address.

"Our incomplete sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops is the most serious legacy we have inherited (from Saddam). Those who think that Iraqis are unable to defend their country are committing a fatal mistake."

The day's festivities included a parade in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone government and diplomatic district, viewed by Iraqis as the ultimate symbol of the foreign military presence until local forces took control of it in January.