MPs turn over Green Zone as violence flares

[unhappycamper]

Soldiers from the 37th Engineer Company are seen at the Crossed Swords monument in the Green Zone in Baghdad last year. U.S. MPs are no longer be pulling security duties in the Green Zone, but they are still be available to respond to security threats upon request by the Iraqi government.


]link:www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/army_greenzone_060910w/|MPs turn over Green Zone as violence flares]
By David Larter - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 17:09:40 EDT

The 336th Military Police Battalion wrapped up a more than seven-year mission June 1 at a ceremony in Baghdad’s Green Zone, where it handed over security of entry-control points to Iraqi security forces, moving the U.S. closer to ending its mission in Iraq amid rising violence.

The early-morning ceremony took place in front of As Salaam palace, which formerly belonged to Saddam Hussein.

The MPs are no longer pulling security duties, but are still be available to respond to security threats upon request by the Iraqi government. The unit is also still charged with protecting the “enduring U.S. presence” until the unit leaves this summer as part of massive reduction in American troops, according to a release from officials with U.S. Forces-Iraq.

During its mission guarding the Green Zone entry control points, the battalion trained the Iraqi army’s 56th Brigade in gate security operations and provided security during Iraq’s bloody election in March.

The Green Zone, also called the International Zone, is the nerve center of the Iraqi government and home to the U.S. embassy.