Britain's defense secretary said on Monday that security had improved in southern Iraq and his Iraqi counterpart predicted that formal control of another province in the region would be handed back to Iraq soon. "I recognize there are continuing challenges and I've seen some violence over this weekend which suggests there's much more work to be done," Des Browne told a joint news conference with Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qader Jassim. "But as Prime Minister Maliki said in an interview this weekend, things are improving and the challenge is to maintain that improvement," he added. British and Iraqi officials have said they expect Dhi Qar province, currently policed by Italians in the British-led force, to return to formal Iraqi control next month, following the return of neighboring Muthanna in July. "There was the handing over of security in al-Samawa, very soon, God willing, security in Nassiriya will be handed over," said Jassim referring to the capital of Dhi Qar. The Italian government has been planning to withdraw its forces from their base in Nassiriya, Reuters reported.
