Iraqi security forces sealed off Baghdad on Tuesday after a tip-off that insurgents planned multiple car bombings in the city, highlighting concerns about violence in the run-up to general elections.
Major General Qassim Atta, spokesman for the city's military command, told AFP that "preventative security measures" were taken as part of a search operation across the Iraqi capital.
"Terrorist groups intended to detonate car bombs in Baghdad on Tuesday morning," he later said in an official statement.
"The security measures were imposed to protect civilians, which included shutting off many roads and taking steps to find the suspected cars," he added.
Coordinated vehicle bombings in Baghdad in August, October and December killed nearly 400 people in all and wounded more than 1,000 others.
Tuesday's lockdown caused gridlock with cars, buses and lorries backed up as bridges and routes into the city were closed, forcing people to travel on foot as military helicopters circled overhead.
Bridges across the Tigris river that lead into the heart of Baghdad were temporarily closed following the early morning alert but re-opened at around 9:15 am (0615 GMT).
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told reporters that the car bombs were intended to strike "sensitive government sites" but would not give specific details.
The rare decision to close off much of the city and the increased military presence prompted claims of a coup by callers to popular Iraqi radio phone in shows, leading to an official denial.
Such rumours were "risible" and "without foundation," defence ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari told reporters in Baghdad.
Insurgents, weakened in the past year, have in recent months changed tactics and mounted successful high-profile attacks on "hard" targets such as government buildings, rather than so-called soft targets in civilian areas.
Tuesday's heightened security comes ahead of the conflict-wracked country's general election on March 7.
There is widespread concern, in the wake of the bloody attacks conducted in Baghdad in the second half of 2009, that political violence will rise in the weeks leading up to the vote.
The election, the second since Saddam Hussein was toppled in a US-led invasion in 2003, is seen as crucial to consolidating Iraq's democracy and securing a complete US military exit by the end of 2011, as planned.
However, 14 politicians and parties linked to executed dictator Saddam's outlawed Baath party have been barred from taking part in the poll, a move seen as a blow towards efforts at national reconciliation.
The US military, meanwhile, said a joint security operation conducted with Iraqi forces in Baghdad on January 7 led to the arrest of an "Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) terrorist suspected of building large-scale vehicle bombs."
"According to recent intelligence reports, AQI fighters operating in Baghdad continue planning attacks in an attempt to disrupt the political progress in Iraq," a US army statement said.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
