Petraeus hands over command

Outgoing General David Petraeus handed over the coalition flag and with it control of US military operations in Iraq.

Held in one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces in Baghdad, the transfer was presided over by US defence secretary Robert Gates. Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, who has been Petraeus’s second in command, will now oversee military operations in the country.

During the ceremony, Odierno said security gains in Iraq still remained fragile and reversible. Earlier this month President Bush announced the withdrawal of some 8000 US troops from Iraq.

Petraeus is widely credited for a large drop in violence after implementing a surge strategy backed by 30,000 extra US troops.

Insurgency attacks have dropped considerably, with less violence and fewer deaths, since the strategy was implemented. Petraeus will now head the US central command in Florida, taking overall strategic control of operations in the Middle-east and Afghanistan.

In Baghdad’s Sadr city, hundreds of Shi’ite demonstrators also took to the streets to protest at the US Defence Secretary’s’ visit and America’s continued presence in Iraq.

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