US to transfer security of Karbala to Iraqis

The US military will hand over control of the Shiite province of Karbala to Iraqi security forces next week, the province’s governor said Saturday as violence claimed another 29 lives across the country.

“Iraqi security forces will take over the security file of Karbala by end of this month from the Americans,” said the governor Akhil al-Khazali.

Karbala will be the eighth of Iraq’s 18 provinces to be transferred to Iraqi control. Under the terms of the handover, US forces will move into a reserve position and offer its troops only in case of emergency and if asked by the governor.

The province, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Baghdad, is relatively peaceful compared to some other central and western regions of Iraq, but is emerging as a flashpoint of Shiite rivalry.

The province, which is home to the shrines of two of Shiite Islam’s most revered imams — Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas — was the site of a bloody firefight in August during a major religious festival.

Baghdad, Sunday, AFP