A number of prominent Iraqi politicians and analysts are voicing concern that the national army will be unable to secure the country in the absence of US troops which could enable neighbouring countries to interfere in the country's internal affairs.

Despite some of the concerns, Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, insists that the withdrawal of US combat forces from Iraqi cities proves that Iraq can handle its own security, despite a recent spike in bombings in the past month.

"We are on the threshold of a new phase that will bolster Iraq's sovereignty. It is a message to the world that we are now able to safeguard our security and administer our internal affairs," he said in a televised event on June 27.

He has called on Iraqis to mark June 30 as a national holiday earmarked as Sovereignty Day.

Usama al-Nujaifi, an Iraqi MP from the Iraqi Nationalist List said: "We think Iraqi forces are not up to the standards of maintaining Iraq's sovereignty and dignity and this could jeopardise Iraq's security."

In November 2008, the Iraqi and US governments signed the Status of Forces Agreement (Sofa) which stipulates the withdrawal of US troops from Iraqi cities to several bases throughout the country on June 30, 2009.

While Iraqi forces step in to take charge of security in the cities, the US army will be tasked with securing Iraq's borders and airspace until its full withdrawal in December 2011.

Debatable sovereignty

Saad Qandil, a member of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which is part of the Shia-majority ruling coalition, thinks declaring and celebrating national sovereignty is premature.

"We know it is not full sovereignty, but it is a step in the right direction. We are still looking forward for the full withdrawal of all foreign troops."

Dhafir al-Ani, an opposition member of the parliament and head of the al-Tawafuq Party, the largest Sunni bloc (44 seats out of 275 seats), agrees with Qandil.

He said: "Sovereignty means you are capable of free decision-making, defending your national soil, airspace and waters. Iraq is definitely far from achieving all this, I think the title of 'sovereignty day' should be reserved until we achieve the full sovereignty."

Security challenges

For the first time since the March 2003 US-led invasion, Iraqi security forces and the army will take sole responsibility for overcoming security challenges posed by local militias, groups like al-Qaeda and foreign infiltrators.

Although the Iraqi security situation has improved somewhat since 2006, hundreds of Iraqi civilians and a number of US soldiers have been killed in a recent spate of attacks.

Major General Qassim Atta, the commander of Baghdad security operations, believes that cadres of the outlawed Baath Party, al-Qaeda and "extreme religious groups" are responsible for the latest wave of attacks in Iraq.

"It is not only al-Qaeda, there are networks calling themselves al-Naqshabandiya, the Baath Party and foreign-backed organisations, all of them aim at defeating the government and foiling the political process," he said.

Khudair al-Murshidi, the spokesperson for the Baath Party in exile, strongly denied that his organisation was behind any of the attacks and accused the government of "distorting the facts".

An Airbus A330-200 operated by Yemen's state carrier Yemenia Air that took off from Paris has disappeared between Yemen and Comoros with 147 passengers on board, an airport source said.

The plane left Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport on Monday and traveled to Marseille and then Sanaa in Yemen before heading towards Moroni.

The aircraft -- which was due to have landed in the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago at 2300 GMT Monday -- disappeared from radar screens, said the airport source.

A crisis task force was set up at Charles de Gaulle airport early Tuesday.

Another Airbus A330 aircraft, operated by Air France, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean between Brazil and France on June 1 with 228 people on board. There were no survivors.