The US military will transfer security control of Iraq's Anbar province, the scene of some of its bloodiest battles since the 2003 invasion, to Iraqi forces next week, the provincial police chief said today. "September 1 is the official date for the transfer of the security file of Anbar from US forces to the Iraqi military command," Tareq al-Dulaimi said. The announcement came after US marine general, James Conways, said Iraqi security forces were now ready to take over responsibility for the province, Iraq's largest and a former bastion of Sunni Arab insurgents.
"The change in the Al-Anbar province is real and perceptible," Mr Conway said in Washington. Anbar will be the 11th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed over by the US-led coalition. The once-restive province west of Baghdad is home to the former flashpoint cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, where deadly clashes between insurgents and US troops flared repeatedly after the invasion. Unrest began to taper off in late 2006 as tribal leaders and former rebels joined with US forces to help oust militants loyal to al Qa'eda. The drop in violence comes amid growing pressure to beef up the US troop presence in Afghanistan, where the level of violence is higher. About 145,000 US soldiers are currently on the ground in Iraq, but those numbers could decrease in coming months. General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, has said he will decide in the coming days or weeks whether to continue withdrawing troops from Iraq, and at what pace. * AFP