Iraq Photos: Feb. 23 -- March 1

A girl hands flowers to Iraqi special police force cadets during a graduation ceremony in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, March 1, 2009.

Iraqi special police force cadets celebrate during a graduation ceremony in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, March 1, 2009. Some 400 police officers graduated after two months training.

A U.S. soldier shakes hands with an Iraqi girl in a schoolyard as troops distributed humanitarian aid in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 1, 2009.

Iraqi police officers sit on a police truck during a patrol in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, March 1, 2009.

Iraqi soldiers walk in front of the Martyr's Monument in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009. The Iraqi military recently took control of the monument from the U.S. military.

A man fixes electrical wires next to a destroyed police patrol car in Zafraniyah in southeastern Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009.

Iraqis watch a live broadcast of U.S. President Barack Obama's speech in a shop in Najaf Iraq, Friday, Feb. 27, 2009. Mr. Obama on Friday fulfilled the defining promise of his campaign, announcing that all U.S. combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by August 2010.

U.S. soldiers walk the streets during a routine patrol in central Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 27, 2009.

Iraqis pray at the holy Shiite shrine Kazimiyah in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 27, 2009. Imam Kazim, one of the Twelve Imams, is buried at the shrine.

British soldiers stand guard next to their armored vehicle, after it was hit by a roadside bomb in Basra, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 27, 2009. No casualties were reported, Iraqi police said.

Iraqi security forces carry coffins of Iraqi soldiers who died during the Iraq-Iran war during a mass funeral outside Basra, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009.

Sa'ad Karim, right, kisses his father after he was released from U.S. military custody in the Dora area of southern Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009.

Sa'ad Esmail, center, react as he is met by his family after being released from U.S. military custody in the Dora area of southern Baghdad, Iraq, on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009.

An Iraqi soldier secures the area as Iraqis clean up the site of a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009.

A wounded Iraqi soldier is rushed to a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. A roadside bomb targeted an army patrol, killing two soldiers and wounding 12 others, police said.

Iraqis visit the restored Iraqi National Museum on the day it was formally dedicated in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 23, 2009. The event came on the eve of the museum's full public opening Tuesday, which officials have touted as another milestone in Baghdad's slow return to stability after years of bloodshed.

An Iraqi soldier stands guard in the restored Iraqi National Museum on the day it was formally dedicated in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Feb. 23, 2009, nearly six years after looters carried away priceless antiquities and treasures in the chaos following the U.S.-led invasion.

Pilgrims visit the shrine of Imam Ali in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, Iraq, on Monday, Feb. 23, 2009, to commemorate the anniversary of the Prophet Mohammed's death.