BAGHDAD, June 14 (UPI) -- As many as 70,000 mostly Iraqi troops in a new style of uniform took to the streets of Baghdad at daybreak Wednesday in a show of force against insurgents.
They established checkpoints and conducted patrols as the city entered a period of overnight curfews and a ban on civilians carrying weapons, CNN reported.
The checkpoints, where vehicles were searched and occupants questioned, created several major traffic jams, the BBC said.
The move was announced by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Tuesday, hours before U.S. President George Bush paid a surprise visit to the city.
The stepped-up security is meant to curb sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims that kills as many as 30 people each day in the city, in some cases by men dressed in phony police uniforms.
Meanwhile, two car bombs exploded in the city Wednesday morning, one killing two people and injuring 10 others and the second missing a passing police control altogether, CNN said.
