BAGHDAD: Iraq''s National Security Advisor Muwafaq AlـRubaie hailed on Monday the security handover in the western province of Anbar from the U.S.ـled MultiـNational Forces (MNF) to the Iraqi authorities earlier in the day as "credit to the Iraqi forces."

"The province is heading for reconstruction and stability," he told reporters in AlـAnbar after a ceremony marking the security handover in the once restive province.
"The security handover will curtail Iraq''s dependence on the MNF," AlـRubaie underscored.
"The Iraqi forces are intensifying the training and capability building processes in a bid to be better qualified to handle the security file," he pointed out.

"The forces are entitled to take over the security of other provinces in 2008, thanks to their growing capabilities" he added. For his part, Commander of the U.S. forces in west Iraq Marine Maj. Gen. John Kelly said the U.S. and Iraqi forces were fighting a joint war against the terrorist AlـQaeda Organization in Iraq.

"The two sides are determined to prevent AlـQaeda terrorists from coming back to the province ... This war is not quite over, but it''s being won and primarily by the people of Anbar.

"AlـQaeda has not been entirely defeated in Anbar, but their end is near and they know it," the senior U.S. commander said underscored. President Bush hailed the handover as a major achievement, saying the onceـviolent province had been "transformed and reclaimed by the Iraqi people." "Iraqi forces will now take the lead in security operations in Anbar, with American troops moving into an overـwatch role.

"This achievement is a credit to the courage of our troops, the Iraqi security forces, and the brave tribes and other civilians from Anbar who worked alongside them," Bush said in a statement." The 25,000 American troops remaining in Anbar will focus on training Iraq''s military and police forces and standing by to help if the Iraqis are unable to cope with any surge in violence.

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