US hands back Anbar province

The United States has handed over the key province of Anbar back to Iraqi control meaning that local forces now control security in 11 of Iraq's 18 provinces. The handover ceremony was presided over by US, Iraqi and tribal officials at the government headquarters in Ramadi. More than a quarter of all US troops killed in Iraq have died in Anbar, Anbar, which is Iraq's largest province.

There are currently has 28,000 US soldiers in Anbar, down from 37,000 in February. A top US commander in Iraq, Marine Maj Gen John Kelly, said that US troop levels in Anbar will come down, but there would not be an instant or dramatic reduction. The number of Iraqi soldiers and police has reportedly risen to 37,000, from 5,000 three years ago.