US turns over control of 12th Iraqi province

By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER API

BABYLON, Iraq (AP) — The U.S. relinquished control of a southern province that includes Sunni areas once known as the "triangle of death," handing security responsibility to the Iraqi government on Thursday. In the capital, where insurgent attacks continue nearly daily, a car bomber targeted a government minister's convoy, killing at least 13 people.

Babil is the 12th of 18 Iraqi provinces to be placed under Iraqi control and a sign of the improving security. U.S. forces will remain in the area to assist the Iraqis when needed.

At a transfer ceremony held near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, said security gains have been remarkable — with the number of attacks falling about 80 percent from an average of 20 per week a year ago.

But he cautioned that "while the enemies of Iraq are down, they are not necessarily defeated."

With Babil's handover to the Iraqi government, the only province left under U.S. control in southern Iraq is Wasit, a rural desert region that borders Iran and has been a conduit for the smuggling of Iranian-backed Shiite militants and weapons into Iraq.

Wasit will be transferred to Iraqi authorities on Oct. 29, said Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, U.S. commander south of Baghdad.

Other provinces that remain to be handed over are north of the capital, where violence has been slower to decline after insurgents fled security crackdowns in Baghdad and surrounding areas.

Salim al-Musilmawi, Babil's provincial governor, credited tribal leaders and Sunnis who turned against al-Qaida in Iraq in a U.S.-funded revolt with the downturn in violence.

"Today's security handover is the fruit of the victory over al-Qaida," he said at the ceremony, which included a brass band, marching army squadrons and a simulated riot response by an armored police unit....