Iraqi police will take over responsibility for security in Baghdad from the army from July, a statement said on Tuesday, a move that has been delayed several times over concerns over their capabilities. "The security committee of Baghdad provincial council announced that the security file in the capital will be handed over completely to interior ministry forces in July," a statement on the interior ministry's website said.
Committee head Abdelkarim al-Zirab said in the statement that army forces will be redeployed "outside the city in locations close to the entrances to secure Baghdad's surrounding areas." Both army and police forces are deployed at checkpoints and other positions to provide security in the Iraqi capital, but soldiers currently provide the main defence for the heavily fortified Green Zone, where the Iraqi government is headquartered.