Iraqi security forces will take control of the central Shiite province of Babel within a month, the provincial governor Salem al-Saleh Meslmawe told AFP on Sunday. "We have discussed with the government and the coalition forces and there is an agreement to transfer security. This will be done within a month," Meslmawe said.
Babel will be the 12th out Iraq's 18 provinces where security responsibilities are to be transferred to Baghdad by the US-led coalition forces. "The security (in Babel) is very good and Iraqi security forces can control it," the governor said, adding that the transfer would take place between mid to late October.
The decision to transfer security was also confirmed by provincial police chief Fadhel Radad. But he said the local forces still needed some logistical support.
Former US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, had told AFP earlier this month that the Americans planned to transfer security in Babel and the nearby province of Wasit to the Iraqis before the end of this year.
Following the transfer in Babel, the US troops would withdraw to their bases and participate in any military operation only if asked by the governor. On September 1, the Iraqis took control of the western Sunni province of Al-Anbar, once the deadliest region in the violence-wracked country.
Iraqi forces are currently managing security in 11 of the 18 provinces of the country. Apart from Babel, the other six provinces still under the control of US forces are Baghdad, Wasit, Diyala, Nineveh, Saleheddin and oil-rich Kirkuk.
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