Baghdad, August 08 (Saba) - The United States has handed over control of all combat duties to Iraqi security forces in a further sign that its withdrawal is on track despite a political impasse in Iraq and a recent rise in violence, according to Qatar News Agency (QNA).

US President Barack Obama said last Monday he would stick to his promise to end US combat operations in Iraq by August 31, with security being left in the hands of Iraq's own US-trained army and police.

"Today is an extremely important day as we continue to progress toward turning over full responsibility to the Iraqi security forces," General Raymond Odierno, top commander of US forces in Iraq, told reporters after a departure ceremony for the last US combat brigade yesterday.

"The Iraqi security forces have continued to do their job throughout this time and have not been affected at all by the delays in the formation of the government," Odierno said in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad.

Iraqi Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassim, who also attended the ceremony, said the issue of politicians struggling to agree on a coalition government was a political one and that the primary responsibility of Iraqi forces was to protect Iraqis.
While this was the last combat brigade to hand over control to Iraqi forces, there will still be six brigades left in the country after US combat troops leave by the end of the month.

The six Advice and Assist Brigades, which come into effect from Sept. 1 when the United States moves formally into an advisory role, will train and support Iraq's army and police.

At Least 20 Killed in Basra Blasts

Explosions rocked the southern Iraqi city of Basra Saturday night, killing at least 20 people and wounded as many as 100. The Blasts in Iraq's second-largest city came at the end of a violent day that also saw the slaying of seven policemen around the country.

Deputy provincial council chairman Shaikh Ahmad Al Sulayti said at least 20 were killed by the blasts that came within minutes of each other at central Basra s Al Ashaar market. He said an estimated 100 were injured.

But the death toll varied among officials. A senior commander in Basra's security operations centre said 43 people were killed and more than 200 wounded.
Another report had as many as 60 people dead. Officials also differed over the cause of the blasts.

Two police officials said a roadside bomb and a car packed with explosives caused the explosions. But Basra Police Chief Adil Daham said the explosions were caused by a malfunctioning power generator.

In the most dramatic of the attacks Saturday on Iraqi security troops, gunmen killed five policemen in an overnight shootout that lasted until dawn at a suspected bomb workshop in western Baghdad, security officials said.

Tipped off by a carjacking, police trailed the suspects to a house in Saidiya, where they came under fire from an unknown number of gunmen.

The shooting lasted until daybreak, when the gunmen slipped away through a rear entrance, according to two Baghdad police officers and an Interior Ministry official. Two of the attackers were nabbed later Saturday while hiding in an orchard in a suburb north of Baghdad, the officials said.

When police searched the house at the scene of the shootout, they found one gunman dead with a pistol at his side.

Seven policemen and six residents, including two women and a 14-year boy, were also wounded in the shootout, the officials said. An emergency room worker at Yarmouk Hospital confirmed the casualties.

Also inside the house, police said they found a cache of bombs, chemicals and other devices to make explosives. A minibus packed with explosives was also found in the garage, officials said, adding that there was a trail of fresh blood in the house from at least one of the gunmen.

Saba