Bombs kill eight in Iraq as U.S. ends control of prison

Detainees perform their daily prayers at the U.S. detention facility at Camp Cropper in Baghdad. File photo: AP.

Police officials say bombs have killed eight people in Iraq, including six in Saddam Hussein’s hometown. The attacks took place on the day U.S. forces are to transfer control of the last prison they run to Iraqi authorities.

The U.S.’s handover of Camp Cropper to Iraq on Thursday marks a milestone in the country’s road to full sovereignty, as well as the end of a troubling chapter in the U.S.’s presence in Iraq.

But the attacks were a reminder of the challenges confronting Iraq.

Authorities said a car bomb targeting a police patrol killed a senior officer, two policemen and three civilians in the city of Tikrit. Eleven civilians were wounded.

Earlier, a bomb on a Baghdad minibus left two dead and another five people wounded.