In June 2005, Iraq’s Prime Minister announced a joint decision between the GOI and MNF-I to systematically hand over security responsibility in Iraq’s 18 provinces to the Provincial Civil Authorities under the control of the province’s governor. The Joint Committee to Transfer Security Responsibility (JCTSR) was commissioned in July 2005 to develop a set of conditions assessing the readiness of each province for Iraqi Control. The JCTSR is comprised of Iraqi governmental officials, US and UK embassy representatives, and MNF-I members. The JCTSR submits their assessment to the Ministerial Committee for National Security (MCNS), chaired by Prime Minister Maliki. The MCNS determines when a province will be ready for provincial Iraqi control (PIC). Provincial handovers are a definitive step toward a self-governed Iraq.

In a historical ceremony on July 13, 2006, Muthanna was the first to transfer – a significant milestone in the successful development of Iraq’s capability to govern and protect itself as a sovereign and democratic nation. The second province to transfer was Dhi Qar in September 2006, the third was An Najaf in December 2006, the fourth was Maysan in April 2007. The Kurdish Region comprised of Irbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dahuk were the fifth, sixth, and seventh provinces transferred under Provincial Iraqi Control in May 2007. Karbala was the eighth province to transfer to provincial Iraqi control in October 2007. The transfer of Basrah in December 2007 marked the half-way point in transferring all provincial security over to Iraqi security forces.

Baghdad
Monday, 01 January 2007

Baghdad province includes the city of Baghdad and the surrounding area, including al-Mahmudiyah and Abu Ghraib. It has an area of 456 square miles, the smallest of the 18 provinces of Iraq. In 2003, the estimated population of the province was 6.4 million people.

Baghdad province is considered one of the more developed parts of Iraq, with a better infrastructure than much of the rest of the country.

Salahad Din
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Salah ad Din or Salâh-ad-Dîn has an area of 15,380 square miles. The estimated population in 2003 was 1.15 million. The provincial capital is Tikrit. Samarra is also in Salah ad Din.

The province is named after Saladin, a hero of the 12th century. He was a Kurdish Muslim from Tikrit, who founded the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Mecca Hejaz and Diyar Bakr. He was also renowned in both the Muslim and Christian worlds for his leadership and military prowess tempered by his chivalry and mercy. He fought against King Richard the Lionheart. When Richard was hurt in battle, Saladin offered him his personal physician. When Richard’s horse was killed, Saladin gave him two as replacements. In 1187, when Saladin’s victorious soldiers entered Jerusalem, they were not allowed to kill civilians, rob people or damage the city.

Diyala
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Diyala province extends to the northeast of Baghdad as far as the Iranian border. Its capital is Baquba.

Diyala province covers an area of 6,828 square miles. In 2003, it had an estimated population of 1.27 million, mostly Sunni Arabs, with a sizeable community of Shia Arabs and Kurds. A large portion of the province is drained by the Diyala River, a major tributary of the Tigris. Because of its proximity to two major sources of water, Diyala's main industry is agriculture, primarily dates grown in large date palm groves. It is also recognized as the orange capital of the Middle East.
The Diyala Province also boasts the Diyala Media Center. The center was built under contract by a Japanese architectural firm in 1989. It is one of Iraq's few independent radio and television stations that offer local television and radio news coverage as well as re-broadcasting the state-run television media.

The province is divided into six districts:


• Al Khalis whose population center is the city by the same name. The city of Al Khalis is roughly nine miles north of Baquba.
• Muqdadiya also has a population center by the same name. The city of Muqdadiya is roughly 60 miles northeast of Baquba.
• Baquba, one of the major cities in Iraq, is centrally located in the province, roughly 15 miles east of the Tigris and divided in half by the Diyala River. The city is roughly 125 miles northeast of Baghdad.
• Baladrooz is in the southern portion of the Diyala province about half way between Baquba and Baghdad.
• Khanaqin
• Kifri


Wasit
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Wasit is in the east of Iraq. Its name comes from the Arabic word meaning "middle," as it lies along the Tigris about midway between Baghdad and the Persian Gulf. Its major cities include the capital, al-Kut, and al-Hayy. Prior to 1976 it was known as Kut Province.
Iraqi children from Wasit Province sing during the ribbon-cutting ceremonies of two schools that were refurbished in the city of An Numaniyah, southeast of Baghdad. US Army photo by Maj. John R. Ciccarelli

Maysan
Sunday, 29 April 2007

Maysan province is in the east of the country, bordering Iran. Its capital is al-Amarah, which sits on the Euphrates River. The second settlement is Majar al-Kabir. Before 1976 it was known as Amara Province.Maysan is a majority Shia Arab province. Its population suffered greatly during the Iran-Iraq War, during which it was a major battlefield, and subsequently post the 1991 Shia Uprising. The province is traditionally home to many Marsh Arabs.
In 2003 it came under the control of the United Kingdom Armed Forces after the invasion of Iraq, and an elected Provincial Council has now been formed. Maysan entered Provincial Iraqi Control on April 18, 2007.

Al-Basrah
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Al-Basrah province’s capital is Basra, the second largest city in Iraq. Other major cities include Corna and Az Zubayi and Umm Qasrand Abu al-Khaseeb.

The province borders with Kuwait to the south and Iran to the east.

Basra province has an area of 11,850 square miles, with an estimated population of about 2.6 million people in 2003.

This was the first stop for the Coalition during the invasion on March 19, 2003. The local population, long suppressed by Saddam Hussein after the 1991 Shiite Uprising, are generally not hostile towards American and British forces.

DhiQar
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Dhi Qar province has an area of 8,016 square miles. In 2003, the estimated population of the province was 1.45 million. The province’s capital is An Nasiriyah. It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruins of Ur and Eridu. Before 1976 the province was known as Muntafiq.

Al-Muthanna
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Al-Muthanna province is in the south of Iraq, bordering Saudi Arabia. Its capital is Samawah. Prior to 1976, it was part of the Diwaniya province, which also included present day An-Najaf and al-Qadisiyah provinces.

Al-Muthanna is 32,150 square miles, about the size of West Virginia. It has a population of about 550,000. At least 97 percent of the population is Shiite Muslim and the remainder are almost entirely Sunni Muslim, with a few Christians.

Al-Muthanna also includes the ancient Sumerian ruin of Uruk, which is possibly the source of the name Iraq.

On July 13, 2006, British, Australian and Japanese forces handed over security responsibility for Muthanna province to Iraqi forces in the first such transfer of an entire province.

Until transition to Provincial Iraqi Control, the province was home to a British/Australian Task Force at Camp Smitty near Samawah. Also in the province was the Japanese Infrastructure Reconstruction Support Group, who conducted humanitarian and reconstruction work

Al-Qadisiyah
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Al-Qādisiyyah is in the center of Iraq. Its capital is Ad Diwaniyyah. Before 1976 it was part of the province of Diwaniya with al-Muthanna and Najaf.

Babil
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Babil province has an area of 4,019 square miles with an estimated population of 1.7 million in 2003.The provincial capital is the town of al-Hillah. The city of al-Musayyib and the ancient ruins of Babylon are also in the province.Before 1971 it was known as Hilla province.

Karbala
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Karbala province’s capital is the city of Karbala, a holy city for Shi'ite Muslims; it houses the shrine of Imam Hussein, a heavily revered figure in Shi'ite Islam. Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan flood into the city to visit the shrine.

An-Najaf
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Najaf province has an area of 17,910 square miles. In 2003 it had an estimated population of 931,600 people.

Prior to 1976 it was part of the Diwaniya province, which also included present day al-Muthanna province and al-Qadisiyah province.

The capital is Najaf. The other major city is al-Kufah. Both cities are holy to Shiite Muslims, who form the majority of the population.

__________________
The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.

Norman Thomas

Al-Anbar
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Al Anbar province’s capital is Ar Ramadi. Anbar is the largest province in Iraq, sharing a border with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The name of the province is Persian and means "the warehouse," as this region was the warehouse of the Persian Sassanid troops.Before 1976 the province was known as Ramadi and before 1962 as Dulaim. Fallujah is also in Anbar.

The insurgency is considered to be stronger in this province than in any other in Iraq. However, in late 2005, after a struggle to gain control of the region, a series of operations by U.S. forces were relatively successful in driving insurgents from Anbar.

Additionally, in early 2006, several tribes and militias — some including insurgent groups — began an effort to root out the remaining foreign militants. As a result, Anbar was thought to be mostly pacified in the early weeks of 2006.

However subsequent insurgent raids against Coalition forces in the area, the increase of sectarian violence (that pushed many of the Sunni tribes back into alliances with militants) and the continued insurgent control of several cities in Anbar showed that fighting in the region is far from over.

Most of the inhabitants of the province are Sunni Muslims from the Dulaim tribe.

As-Sulaymaniyah
Sunday, 03 June 2007

As Sulaymānīyah province is within the Kurdistan Region. Its capital is the city of As Sulaymaniyah. Prior to 1976 it was part of the At Ta’mim province.

As-Sulaymaniyah came under Provincial Iraqi Control on May 30, 2007, as part of the Kurdish Regional Government's area of responsibility.

At Ta’mim
Tuesday, 01 August 2006

At-Ta’mim or Kirkuk province has an area of 6,390-square-miles. At-Ta’mim means state owned and points the national ownership of the very rich oil and natural gas reserves.

Prior to 1976, it was called Kirkuk Province and also included the neighbouring As Sulaymaniyah province.In 2003 the estimated population was 949,000 people.

The provincial capital is the city of Kirkuk. A deeply mixed province, much of the population in At-Ta'mim province are Kurdish, as well as Turkmen, Arabic and Assyrian. Kirkuk is the cultural center for Iraqi Turkmen.

Erbil
Sunday, 03 June 2007

Erbil is in the north of Iraq. It derives its name from the city of Irbil, which is also its capital. Erbil city is believed by many to be the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world and is one of the larger cities in Iraq. The city lies 50 miles east of Mosul.

Erbil province covers an area of 5,570 square miles in the north of Iraq, with an estimated population in 2001 of 1.13 million. It is largely populated by Kurds with Assyrian, Arab and Turkoman minorities. From 1974 onwards, the province of Arbil formed part of the Kurdish Autonomous Region of northern Iraq.The region's economy is largely agricultural with some oil production and was badly affected by the conflict between Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi Kurds.Since August 2004, the South Korean Zaytun Division was dispatched to the province for peace-keeping and reconstruction.

Erbil province came under Provincial Iraqi Control on May 30, 2007, as part of the Kurdish Regional Government's area of responsibility.

Dahuk
Sunday, 03 June 2007

Dahuk province is in the north of Iraq, within the Kurdish Autonomous Region. Its capital is Dahuk city. It also includes the city of Zakho, which has at various times served as a checkpoint for the border with Turkey. Prior to 1976 it was part of Ninawa province, which was called Mosul Province.
During the 1991 Gulf War, the capital was abandoned and occupied by the Iraqi army, hostile to the local Kurd population. Dahuk is currently thriving under the new post-Saddam government. The province is constitutionally under the control of Kurdistan Regional Government. Villages and towns in Dohuk province include:

• Avzrog
• Badarash
• Bebadeyy
• Dehi
• Dawodiya
• Harmash
• Hezany
• Sarsink
• Sumail

Dahuk came under Provincial Iraqi Control on May 30, 2007, as part of the Kurdish Regional Government's area of responsibility.

Tuesday, 01 August 2006

Ninawa province is in northern Iraq. Its name is derived from the biblical city of Nineveh in Assyria. It has an area of 23,190 square miles and an estimated population of 2.5 million. Its chief city and the provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of Nineveh. Tal Afar is also a major city within the region. Prior to 1976 it was called Mosul province and also included the present day Dahuk province.
Its two main cities endured the 2003 invasion and emerged relatively unscathed. In 2005, however, Mosul and Tal Afar were the scenes of fierce battles between Coalition troops and insurgents. The insurgents had moved to Ninawa after the Battle of Fallujah in 2004.

__________________
The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.

Norman Thomas