Iraqi Forces To Take Over Security In Anbar

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From 'NY Times & Reuters': The U.S. military will transfer control of security in Iraq's Anbar province to Iraqi forces this week, a remarkable turnaround given the vast western region was considered lost to insurgents less than two years ago. Anbar will be the 10th of Iraq's 18 provinces returned to Iraqi security control since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but it will be the first Sunni Arab region handed back. Mamun Sami Rasheed, Anbar's governor, said the handover ceremony would take place on Saturday. "We have been dreaming of this event since 2003," he said.

The commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq, Marine Major-General John Kelly, said the impending handover showed Iraqi forces were increasingly ready to defend Iraq against threats such as those posed by al Qaeda. "Anbar province is ... an important milestone. It changes the nature of our security relationship here," he told Reuters. "(It) does not mean al Qaeda is defeated. What it represents is the improving capability of Iraqi security forces to deal with the threat."