Iraq province handover postponed

US and Iraqi troops battled Shia militias in Diwaniya in 2007

The expected transfer of an Iraqi province to Iraqi security control has been postponed without explanation.

US-led troops had been expected to hand over Diwaniya on Monday, making it the 10th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be transferred to government forces.

Iraqi and US troops launched a major operation in the Shia-majority region in 2007 aimed at imposing stability.

Last week, the transfer of the first mainly Sunni province - Anbar, west of Baghdad - was also delayed.

The authorities cited bad weather preventing officials from flying in.

Diwaniya has been the scene of fighting between rival Shia militias.

Local officials say the indefinite postponement was due to lack of coordination between the central Iraqi government and US forces.

The US military confirmed the handover had been postponed but did not explain the reason for the delay.

The nine provinces handed over to Iraqi security control, five years the US-led invation of Iraq, are Maysan, Muthanna, Basra, Dhi Qar, Najaf, Karbala, and the three mainly Kurdish northern provinces Dohuk, Suleimaniya and Arbil.