Iraqis take over security in Najaf

Moqtada al-Sadr in Najaf, 2004. Members of his Mahdi Army vie for control of the holy city with members of the Badr Brigade, many of whom are now part of Iraqi security forces. Najaf is also home to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

NAJAF, Iraq, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Iraqi soldiers bit the heads off frogs and ate the heart of a rabbit as signs of courage on Wednesday at a ceremony to transfer Najaf province, home to one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest shrines, from U.S. to Iraqi control.

A U.S. general called the transfer, under a plan to gradually hand over security and allow the withdrawal of 135,000 American troops, a major step in strengthening the Iraqi government as it seeks to stop sectarian violence.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has said Iraqis can take control of all Iraq's 18 provinces by June, despite doubts about capabilities and the sectarian loyalties of the army and police.

The province has been spared much of the violence, but its capital Najaf is the scene of a power struggle between two powerful Shi'ite militias vying for control of the holy city, the seat of Iraq's most influential Shi'ite clerics.

To guard against attacks, Iraqi authorities imposed a vehicle ban in the city, where the handover ceremony took place in a football stadium amid tight security.

Politicians, tribal and religious leaders and soldiers watched displays of military prowess and one demonstration, hailed as a display of courage, in which five soldiers stopped before the grandstand to bite the heads off frogs.

A sixth holding a live rabbit slit open its stomach and ate its heart before tossing the carcass to his comrades to chew on.

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