Baquba, the Iraqi city synonymous in recent years with murders, intercommunal killings and suicide bombings, is celebrating the imminent departure of US troops with balloons and bunting. "It was hell, the dark days of Baquba. When you look back three years ago, it's incredible how the situation has improved," said US Colonel Shawn Reed, head of the infantry regiment in charge of the city's security.
Dignitaries from Diyala, a province north-east of Baghdad known as the orchard of Iraq but also one of the country's most dangerous places, were in attendance at police headquarters on Friday in the city of half a million people.
The governor, chief of police, the head of Iraqi military operations, US generals and colonels, all turned up to commemorate the transfer of power, due to take place officially on June 30. An American army unit completed a security sweep of the premises and closed the surrounding streets to traffic, while troops positioned themselves on rooftops for the gathering.
It is barely a year since US and Iraqi forces cracked down in the city and province, breaking the resistance of al Qaeda fighters, but a few pockets
remain where rebels can still operate. On Sunday at Hamrin west of Baquba insurgents in military fatigues burst into the house of an Iraqi lieutenant colonel. Not finding him, they killed his brother and set off a bomb that wounded two people.
But these incidents are minor compared to the era of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, who organised beheadings, killings and kidnaps, lording it over the region before being killed in an American air raid near Baquba in June 2006. The handover of Baquba "is a milestone for Iraq," said General James Nixon, deputy commander of American forces in northern Iraq.
"We have close relations with our partner that will help us overcome friction," he said.
US troops began their withdrawal from central Baquba three months ago. They have given up three positions and will hand over the fourth on June 30, the date on which all US forces are scheduled to leave Iraq's towns and cities. Units previously assigned to Baquba will confine themselves to a support role, ready to be called in as back up if needed.
They will be stationed in five bases a few kilometres (miles) outside the city, including one at Firnas airport outside the city, an Iraqi military official told AFP. An Iraqi security source in Diyala said 10,000 American soldiers are in the province, along with 22,000 police and 17,000 Iraqi troops plus 15,000 fighters from Sahwa (Awakening) militias, former Sunni Arab rebels who have turned against al Qaeda.
The withdrawal was gradual "so that it would not turn into a vacuum" that rebels might have filled, Reed said. However, some officers on the ground are anxious about a lack of detail in implementation of November's State of Forces Agreement between Iraq and the United States which paved the way for the pullback.
"It's a very general document," according to Captain Todd Tatum, who was present at the ceremony. "There are no details and no clarity. But in this part of the world, it takes to the last minute for the clarity to emerge. "We are cautiously optimistic," he said.
Iraqi forces are confident of handling their new responsibilities despite the recent wave of attacks in Baghdad and northern Iraq, highlighting the continuing fragility of security in the war-torn country.
"Iraqi forces have been ready for four or five months. We are ready in terms of numbers, equipment and training," said General Abdel Hussein Damuk, head of Diyala police. "We met the sheikhs and other leaders and told them they represent the security shield after the withdrawal because they know the terrorists' movements and who they are," he said.
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