08 August 2006
U.S. Announces Security Transfer for Two Northern Iraqi Provinces
Iraqis now control operations in 50 percent of their country, say officials
Washington – Iraq’s 4th Army Division officially assumed lead responsibility for security operations in two northern Iraqi provinces, the U.S ambassador to Iraq and the commander of coalition forces announced August 8.
“These turnovers from coalition forces to Iraqi security forces reflect the increased operational capacity of the Iraqi security forces,” Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Army General George Casey said in a joint statement. “We pledge our continued support to them and the Iraqi government as they seek to provide peace and prosperity for all of Iraq’s peoples.”
The division will take control of an operational area encompassing most of Salah ad-Din and At-Ta’mim (Kirkuk) provinces, north of Baghdad, including the cities of Tikrit, Kirkuk and Samarra, an area previously overseen by coalition troops from the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
The officials noted that the transition represents the halfway point of the U.S. goal to put Iraqis in full control of planning, coordinating and conducting security operations nationwide.
The officials said, five of the Iraqi force’s 10 divisions, as well as 25 of its brigades and 85 battalions now lead security operations in their areas of responsibility. In addition, they said, 48 of the coalition’s 110 forward operating bases have been transferred to Iraqi control.
An August 8 release from the Multi-National Force – Iraq stated, “The handover of forward operating bases and security lead demonstrates the progress being made by the Iraqi security forces, reiterates successes, and highlights the progress of the legitimate Iraqi government as a positive move toward full national sovereignty and self-reliance.”
The handover, according to coalition officials, represents a “significant milestone toward garnering security self-reliance for the Iraqi citizens, the Iraqi security force, and the government of Iraq.”
The announcement follows the full transfer of security responsibilities in the southern Iraqi province of Muthanna on July 13. (See related article.)
Khalilzad and Casey lauded the return of the two provinces as “another sign of progress toward a stable and secure Iraq.”
FORCES DEMONSTRATE COMMITMENT TO DEFENDING IRAQI CITIZENS
A region broadly reflective of Iraq’s diverse communities, the area where Iraqi forces will maintain security is also home to a significant amount of the country’s energy wealth. According to U.S. Army Major Greg Bishop, spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division’s Brigade Combat Team, soldiers of the 4th Iraqi Army Division have demonstrated that they are fully capable of assuming security responsibilities in a recent series of successful, coalition-supported operations in the area.
In response to requests from local leaders to rid Kirkuk’s outlying areas of terrorists with links to al-Qaida in Iraq, the division recently launched “Operation Gaugamela,” successfully using 3,000 Iraqi troops to detain 154 suspects and seize a large cache of weapons.
The 10 day, coalition-supported operation, centered in the At Ta Min province cities of Hawaija and Riyadh, sought out terrorists in 25 cities and villages in a region spanning over 900 square miles, according to the MNF-I release.
During the operation, said U.S. military advisers, Iraqi forces showed the results of their coalition training, including both enhanced logistics capabilities allowing them to operate independently in the field for extended periods of time, and the discipline and dedication befitting a modern military force. (See related article.)
“The Iraqi and coalition soldiers went into two of the most contentious cities in the … province, searched hundreds of homes and buildings and detained more than 150 suspects with no violence whatsoever,” said Bishop in the August 8 press release. “That’s an incredible success and a true measure of the professionalism of everyone involved in the operations.”
Khalilzad and Casey’s joint statement and the press release announcing the transfer are available at the Multi-National Force – Iraq Web site.
For more information, see Iraq Update.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
