Iraqis will be 100% responsible for mid-Euphrates security – commander

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Security responsibility for the mid-Euphrates will be wholly assumed by the Iraqis after the Multi-National Forces (MNF) Forces withdrawal from this area’s provinces on June 30, 2009, as per the Iraq-U.S. security pact, said the commander of the Iraqi army 8th division. “Iraqi police will take over security inside those provinces, while the army will impose a security ring around them,” General Othman al-Ghanimi told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Currently, there are meetings in Baghdad between the two Iraqi ministries of defense and interior to finalize preparations in this regard,” he said. “U.S. combat forces will not go leave their bases without clearance from the Iraqi forces,” he added. The mid-Euphrates provinces include Diwaniya, Wassit, Najaf, Babel, and Karbala. MH (P)/SR 1