U.S. cedes last southern province to Iraqi forces

By Jaafar al-Taie

KUT, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. forces handed over control of the last province south of Baghdad to Iraqi forces on Wednesday, marking a milestone in the transfer of security responsibility to Iraq's government.

Wasit province along the Iranian border was the 13th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed over by U.S. forces to Iraq. Only the capital Baghdad and four volatile northern provinces are still under U.S. command.

"This is considered a national holiday for Wasit province and its people," Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, the Iraqi government's security adviser, said at a handover ceremony at a stadium in the provincial capital Kut.

Iraqi soldiers and police paraded around the stadium's running track.

Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. combat forces in Iraq, said the transfer "represents the beginning of a very promising future for the people of Wasit, and it represents a safer and more secure Iraq".

He said the province had experienced 16 to 18 attacks a week just seven months ago, and now frequently went for weeks without no attacks recorded.

Turning over a province to Iraqi control means U.S. forces no longer conduct routine patrols, although they may still be involved in military operations with Iraqi approval.

Wasit province was the scene of fighting during an uprising by followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in March and April this year, but like other parts of the south has since become largely quiet while Sadr's followers observe a ceasefire.