Iraqi PM opens Baghdad Green Zone to all citizens after 12 years
Iraqi security forces close a bridge leading to the heavily guarded Green Zone during a demonstration against corruption in Tahrir Square in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Oct. 2, 2015. (AP Photo)


Iraq's Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has declared the heavily fortified Green Zone open to all of his citizens for the first time in 12 years.A statement from the premier's office says al-Abadi was the first to pass through the newly-opened Green Zone, or the International Zone as it is officially known.A senior Green Zone security official tells The Associated Press that much of the restrictions on the Green Zone will still remain in place, particularly on streets leading to high-level government buildings and embassies, including the U.S. embassy. The official spoke anonymously because he is not authorized to brief the media.The zone has continued to be a target for bombings and rockets over the years, despite the concrete walls that surround it.The 10 km-square area home to government buildings and embassies became off-limits to the public in the wake of the 2003 U.S. occupation as a security measure.