The US military will transfer security control of Anbar province, scene of some of its bloodiest battles since the 2003 invasion, to Iraqi forces on September 1, the provincial police chief told AFP on Thursday.
"September 1 is the official date for the transfer of the security file of Anbar from US forces to the Iraqi military command," Tareq al-Dulaimi said.
The announcement came after US Marine General James Conways said on Wednesday that Iraqi security forces were now ready to take over reponsibility for the province -- Iraq's largest and a former bastion of Sunni Arab insurgents.
"The change in the Al-Anbar province is real and perceptible," Conway said in Washington.
Anbar will be the 11th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed over by the US-led coalition.
The once-restive province west of Baghdad is home to the former flashpoint cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, where deadly clashes between insurgents and US troops flared repeatedly after the invasion.