U.S. hands over 2nd Iraqi province in a week

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Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, right, and Iraqi governor of Wasit province shake hands during a transfer ceremony in Kut, Iraq on Oct. 29. The U.S. military handed over security responsibilities for the southern province to Iraqi authorities, signaling the growing capabilities of Iraq's fledgling security forces.


U.S. hands over 2nd Iraqi province in a week
By Abdul-Razaq Jabr - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 29, 2008 18:45:19 EDT

KUT, Iraq — The U.S. military on Wednesday handed over security responsibility for the southern province of Wasit to Iraqi authorities in a step that acknowledges the growing capability of the country’s fledgling security forces.

Wasit province is the 13th of Iraq’s 18 provinces to return to full government control. Iraqi authorities are now in charge of security throughout the country’s mostly Shiite south.

U.S. and Iraqi forces have been jointly seeking to shut down arms smuggling routes from Iran that use Wasit as a transit point before the weapons are taken elsewhere in Iraq. The weapons are thought to be going to Shiite militant groups.

U.S. forces will remain in the predominantly Shiite province to assist the Iraqis when needed.

Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie lauded Wasit’s Iraqi security forces when he addressed the handover ceremony in the provincial capital, Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/ap_iraq_102908/%2e