By Bushra Juhi
The Associated Press, 31 August 2006
Iraqi forces will take over security of a southern province from coalition troops next month, and will have control of most of the country by the end of the year, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday.
Dhi Qar will be the second province to come under the full control of Iraqi troops. British troops handed over control of southern Muthana province in July.
"This year will witness the handing over of other provinces and we hope that by the end of the year, our security forces will take over most of the Iraqi provinces," al-Maliki said.
"This makes us optimistic and proud because we managed to fulfilled our promise. We were able ... to develop the abilities of our forces," he said. "This gives us the feeling that we are close to taking over the whole security file of the country, God's willing."
On Wednesday, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, said Iraqi troops were on course to take over security control from U.S.-led coalition forces within the next 12-18 months "with very little coalition support."
The military has long maintained that any American troop drawdown would have to be preceded by Iraqi forces taking on more and more responsibility.
Casey said it was too early to tell whether Iraqi security forces could assume full control of security, allowing coalition forces to withdraw, within that timeframe, but said they were now 75 percent along the path of being able to operate independently of coalition forces.
Earlier this month, al-Maliki's spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraqi government forces would take over security responsibilities in September from Italian troops stationed in Nasiriyah, the capital of Dhi Qar province.
Italy has about 1,600 troops in the country, mostly in Nasiriyah, and that force is expected to be withdrawn by year's end.
Romania has a battalion of about 402 soldiers in Dhi Qar out of a total of 628 in the country. On Wednesday, the Romanian president said his country could withdraw some of its troops from Iraq as the Iraqi government takes over military control of the province in 45 to 60 days at the most.
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Citation: Bushra Juhi. "Iraqi security taking over 2nd province," The Associated Press, 31 August 2006.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060831/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_security_handover
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