The holy city of Najaf is handed over to Iraqi security forces
Iraq's holiest shrines for Shi'ites are situated in the area handed over to national troops.
Najaf (AsiaNews/Agencies) US troops yesterday officially handed over military control of the southern city of Najaf to Iraqi forces. It is the first of a planned series of transfers across the country, gradually leading to a withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq.
US commander Lt-Col James Oliver said "Iraq's army is capable of responding to all security needs We are now here in a strictly advisory mode," said. During the handover, Iraqi troops chanted slogans in support of local Shia Muslim religious leaders, among them "Long live Sistani," referring to Najaf-based cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani, and another chorus was "Saddam is a coward".
Brig-Gen Augustus Collins, who made the official handover of troops, said: "It gives me great pleasure to say the Iraqi army in Najaf can control the area," The area includes the holiest Shi'ite shrines in Iraq. Iraqi troops are now based in the strategic Forward Operating Base (FOB) Hotel in southern Najaf, while US forces withdrew to a base further outside the city. "Although we are transferring authority at this FOB, we will still be here to help the people of Najaf," Gen Collins said.
Najaf, one of Iraq's holiest cities for the Shi'ites, was transformed into a fierce battleground in 2004 between US forces and militia forces loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr. Washington has refused to set a deadline for withdrawal of US-led forces from Iraq, saying this is down to the Iraqis' ability to maintain security.
Meanwhile clashes continue elsewhere in the country: officials say the north-western city of Qaim have been taken by insurgents inspired by Al-Qaeda and US troops (based on the border) have not managed to wrest back control of the situation because of depleted troops as a result of an assault on Talafar northern Iraq another stronghold of the rebels.
In Khaldiya, near Falluja, a car bomb and armed clashes left four Iraqi soldiers and three civilians dead. An Iraqi army officer was killed by gunmen in Dhuluiya, north of Baghdad. US marine aircraft bombed two bridges over the Euphrates near the Syria border in an effort to stem the flow of insurgents and their equipment. High pressure water pipes in north-east Baghdad were sabotaged overnight, causing drinking water supplies to be suspended in large sections of the capital.
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22/06/2005
