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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| US forces hand province to Iraqis | US forces hand province to Iraqis |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Iraqi forces have been handed control of security in the province of Babil by the US military. | Iraqi forces have been handed control of security in the province of Babil by the US military. |
| It is the 12th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed back to Iraqis. | |
| The move comes two days after clashes between militants and Sunni tribesmen in mainly Shia Babil, south of Baghdad, killed at least 15 people. | The move comes two days after clashes between militants and Sunni tribesmen in mainly Shia Babil, south of Baghdad, killed at least 15 people. |
| Babil has seen much sectarian violence, including a suicide attack in Hilla in March last year that left more than 100 Shia pilgrims dead. | Babil has seen much sectarian violence, including a suicide attack in Hilla in March last year that left more than 100 Shia pilgrims dead. |
| The province includes a Sunni Muslim area which became known as the "Triangle of Death" because of the high number of attacks against US forces there. | |
| Violence abated in part due to former Sunni rebels in Babil who joined so-called Awakening Councils and turned against al-Qaeda militants. | |
| At the handover ceremony in the provincial capital, Hilla, Iraqi national security advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said more provinces will follow. | |
| "I want to declare from Babil that Iraq will take over Wasit in the next few days and we hope to complete the transfer of the remaining provinces in the near future. | |
| "Today the security forces of Babil are self-reliant and we are proud to take over Babil from US forces," he said. | |
| The previous province transferred to Iraqi security control was Anbar - once the centre of Iraq's Sunni insurgency - which was handed back in September. | The previous province transferred to Iraqi security control was Anbar - once the centre of Iraq's Sunni insurgency - which was handed back in September. |
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