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Iraqi security forces fanned out into the suburbs and ports of Basra on Wednesday, as life in that southern city slowly began to return to normal, with government offices reopening and residents venturing more confidently into the streets. Witnesses said that Iraqi forces now controlled central Basra and its northern border, and that they had begun moving into militia strongholds north of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports that the control of Basra in Iraq was handed over to the Iraqi government by the British forces. The region was under their military supervision since four and a half years. Basra is stated to be a politically vital province and so officials in the U.S. are wondering if the transfer will prove to be Iraq's test of political and military leadership ability. Political analysts are seeing whether the step will prevent Shiite militia from gaining too much influence.

What's going right? And can it last? Violence in all of Iraq is the lowest since March 2004. The two largest cities, Baghdad and Basra, are calmer than they have been for years. The third largest, Mosul, is in the midst of a major security operation. On Thursday, Iraqi forces swept unopposed through the southern city of Amara, which has been controlled by Shiite militias. There is a sense that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's government has more political traction than any of its predecessors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The American military conducted airstrikes Thursday and Friday to back up stalled Iraqi forces in Basra and battle Shiite militias in Baghdad as continued violence and political infighting worsened the prospects for any timely reconciliation among Iraq's warring factions. Although American officials have emphasized that the campaign in the southern port city of Basra is directed by Iraqi forces, the Iraqis have failed so far to wrest control of neighborhoods in Basra from Shiite militias and asked the Americans and British to step in. The Iraqi military does not have jet fighters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Heavy fighting broke out Tuesday in two of Iraq's largest cities, as Iraqi ground forces and helicopters mounted a huge operation to break the grip of the Shiite militias controlling Basra, and Iraqi forces clashed with militias in Baghdad. The fighting threatened to destabilize a long-term truce that had helped reduce the level of violence in the five-year-old Iraq war. The battles, along with indications in recent weeks that militia and insurgent attacks had already been creeping up, raised fears across Iraq that Moktada al-Sadr, the renegade Shiite cleric, could pull out of a cease-fire he declared last summer. If his Mahdi Army militia does step up attacks, that could in turn slow American troop withdrawals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]