US forces ceremonially handed control of Anbar province, scene of the bloodiest battles of the insurgency, to their Iraqi counterparts today, underlining the massive improvement achieved in security in recent months.
Anbar, the first Sunni province to be returned to Iraqi rule, witnessed some of the fiercest fighting since the US-led invasion in 2003, notably during the two sieges of Fallujah in 2004 and 2005. Around a third of the 1,305 Americans troops who lost their lives in Iraq have died in Anbar.
After the invasion, Fallujah and Ramadi, the provincial capital, quickly fell into the hands of Sunni groups allied to al-Qaeda. For years residents lived amid brutal street battles between American troops and the insurgents.
President Bush hailed today’s ceremony in Ramadi as a victory against al-Qaeda. “Today, Anbar is no longer lost to al Qaeda- it is al-Qaeda that lost Anbar,” he said.
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