US forces announce withdraw of 1,500 soldiers from Nassiriya
THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: The US Army in southern Iraq‘s Nassiriya city has announced the departure of about 1,500 of its soldiers and more than 2,500 war materials from the city on their way out of Iraq, without assigning a date for handing over their military base to the Iraqi forces, according to a US Army statement on Monday. “In response to our commitment to the Security Agreement, signed between both countries, our 3rd Brigade of the 1st Knights Division iscontinuining its mission to move its troops out of Iraq, on the occasion of the final date of our withdrawal, schelued to take place on Dec.31,as we have moved about 1,500 soldiers and more than 2,500 war materials out of Iraq,” the US Army’s Media Spokesman in Nassiriya, MajorHarold Half (Ed: verbatim) told IraqiNews.com news agency. He stressed that the “handing over of ‘Imam Ali Air Base’ in the area was taking place through coordination with the Iraqi government and itsSecurity Forces, who are the owners of the final decision regarding the future of the base, after our departure at the end of the year,” but the US officer prefared not to announce the final date for handing over the base, due to “military orders,” saying: “the sacrifices of our soldiers along with our partners in the Iraqi Security forces have created chances for the Iraqi people to control their future, and we are proud to participate in this historic transformation.” Noteworthy is that the US forces have taken Imam Ali Air Base that was established in 1976 on the outskirts of the historic city of Ur, comprising air facilities to receive the largest air transportation aircrafts, as their headquarters considered one of the most important American base in southern Iraq. The base has been inhabited by over 4,000 US soldiers and is in control of the withdrawal of the US combat forces from Iraq, as well as its use by the US Army to steer its opeations in southern Iraq‘s provinces of Basra, Muthanna and Missan, along with Thi-Qar. The same base is headquarters for the Iraqi 70th Air Company Command, mission of whom is centered on observing the borders, protecting them and watching the vital Iraqi oil and electrict power installations in the area. Nassirya, the center of Thi-Qar Province, is 365 km to the south of Baghdad. SKH (TS)/SR Number of Reads:137