DIWANIYAH, Iraq, July 16 (AFP): Iraq took control of security in the Shiite province of Diwaniyah on Wednesday, making it the 10th province to be regained by Baghdad from the US-led forces amid a fall in violence nationwide.
"We are receiving the security file," deputy parliament speaker Sheikh Khalid al-Attiya said at the transfer ceremony.
"This day represents a bright page in a series of achievements that show the ability and the strength of the Iraqi forces."
The commander of US-led forces in Diwaniyah, Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin, hailed the achievements made by both military and civilian leaders.
"Qadisiyah has made remarkable progress in security," the general said, using the old name for the province.
"This ceremony isn't just about the level of security. It is also about improvement in government administration," he added.
"We will contiue to stand by Iraqi security forces as they try to estabilish sustainable security."
Iraq's National Security Adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie called on provincial leaders to build on the improved security to rebuild the local economy.
"We thank the multinational forces for their contribution to the stability and security of this province," he said in his speech at the handover.
"It is time now for the sons of the province to turn the page of security and start a new page of rebuilding and reconstruction to create new jobs and make the province the most prosperous among all other provinces."
Diwaniyah has seen repeated clashes among Shiite factions -- notably between the radical movement of anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the rival Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council of Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, a key member of the governing coalition.
Last November, Iraqi and US troops launched a major offensive in Diwaniyah in a bid to stabilise the province of around one million people.
More than 3,000 Iraqi soldiers and police supported by tanks and hundreds of US and Polish troops took part in the assault to flush out Shiite militiamen from the province's capital, also called Diwaniyah.
Nearly 100 militiamen were detained during the operation, many of them loyal to Sadr.
The transfer of Diwaniyah was originally scheduled for June 30 but was delayed after bad weather stopped Iraqi officials making the 180 kilometre (110 mile) trip south from the capital.
Diwaniyah had been under the control of US and Polish forces since the March 2003 invasion.
The Polish military has some 900 troops in Iraq, most of them deployed in Diwaniyah and parts of southern Iraq.
Diwaniyah is the 10th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be transferred to local responsibility, amid a push to return security control of the entire country to Baghdad.
The nine other provinces which have been handed over to the Iraqis are the Shiite provinces of Maysan, Muthanna, Basra, Dhi Qar, Najaf and Karbala, and the three Kurdish provinces of Dohuk, Sulaimaniyah and Arbil.
