Iraqi Police march in a parade celebrating the handover of Dhi Qar province to Iraqi Security Forces at Camp Ur, Iraq Thursday. The handover was the second of the country’s 18 provinces to be fully returned to Iraqi control. Photo by Sgt. Frank Pellegrini.Multi-National Force – Iraq Press Release
CAMP UR, Iraq — With a flourish of his pen, Dhi Qar governor Aziz Kadum Alwan Al Ogheli officially took over governmental and security responsibility for Iraq ’s southern Dhi Qar province from British and Italian forces in an elaborate ceremony at an Iraqi Army training base near Tallil Thursday.
“It is a great day,” Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said. “It holds the message of the future handover of security control in all Iraq .”
Indeed, the handover was another milestone in the road to Iraqi self-reliance known as Provincial Iraqi Control, or PIC. It places full security responsibility with the Provincial Governor and his local Iraqi police force, which now numbers some 10,000. The governor also coordinates with national police and Iraqi Army forces, whose 10th Division, 3rd Brigade has two battalions in the region.
The handover marks the second of Iraq ’s 18 provinces returned to local control. British forces transferred security responsibility for neighboring Muthana province in July.
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