The US military handed control of Anbar, once the most explosive battlefield in Iraq, over to Iraq forces today. The move symbolises the growing security gains in the war-torn country.
The ceremony to transfer Anbar to local forces took place at the provincial governate building in Ramadi, the provincial capital.
It marks the handover of the 11th of Iraq's 18 provinces and the first Sunni province to be returned to the control of the Iraqi government.
"I would like to announce that the (Anbar) transfer from the US to Iraqi forces is done," said Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraq's national security adviser at the handover ceremony.
"The province of Anbar which was one of the hottest regions in Iraq is today celebrating the receiving of the security file."
Police said tens of thousands of Iraqi and US troops were on alert across the vast desert province in western Iraq.
Majid al-Assafi, the provincial police chief, said yesterday that his forces were ready to accept security responsibility in Anbar, the country's largest province and home to about two million people.
The US military said the transfer of security was an "important milestone with regard to security" in the province.
But the "transferring of security does not necessarily mean that the security situation is stable or better," the military statement said.
"It means the government and the provincial authorities are ready to take the responsibility for handling it."
Martin Post, a top US commander in Anbar, said there would be some incidents but they "will be part of the normal life."
"Iraqi police have better intelligence than ours. They have more abilities than us to do the job," he added.
After the transfer, US forces will withdraw to their bases and will take part in military operations only if requested by the provincial governor.
Ahead of the handover, police tightened security and the US military stepped up patrols on the main streets of the provincial capital Ramadi, as locals prepared for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Iraqi Sunnis began observing Ramadan today. Shiites are to follow on Tuesday.
Sunni Arabs in Anbar were the first to turn against US forces after the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime by US-led invasion forces in 2003, mounting a raging insurgency that tore through the world's most sophisticated military.
In the first years after the invasion, the country's biggest province became the theatre of a brutal war focused on the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, while a string of towns along the Euphrates valley became insurgent strongholds and later safe havens for al Qa'eda.
The US military currently has 28,000 soldiers in Anbar, down from 37,000 in February, according to US army figures, while the number of Iraqi soldiers and police has grown to 37,000 from just 5,000 three years ago.
The military had planned to hand over Anbar on June 28 but cancelled the previous day ? citing a sandstorm as the reason.
Local chiefs said the delay was due to Sunni political disputes between Sahwa and the leading Sunni political group Islamic Party.
Today's handover is expected to help the US military cut its overall troop level in Iraq at a time when there is growing pressure to beef up forces in Afghanistan, where the level of violence is higher.
About 144,000 US soldiers are currently deployed in Iraq, but those numbers could decrease in coming months.
Gen David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, has said he will decide in the coming days or weeks whether to continue withdrawing troops, and at what pace.
* AFP
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
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TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
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Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
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How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The White Lotus: Season three
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Rating: 4.5/5
ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
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- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
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- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
ARSENAL IN 1977
Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal
Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 05 Arsenal 1-4 ipswich
March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom
Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Apr 02 Arsenal 3-0 Leicester
