US-led forces turned over control today of Iraq's military command to the Shia-led government, a key first step leading to the eventual withdrawal of foreign troops.
But the ceremony, billed as the next step in Iraq's independence, only transferred authority for one of Iraq's 10 divisions and its tiny air force and navy.
Meanwhile, a legislative session on Iraq's future at the nearby parliament degenerated into a shouting match as Sunni Arabs accused the majority Shias of seeking to carve Iraq into sectarian and ethnic enclaves.
As Iraqi military and political leaders met behind blast walls in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, attacks across Iraq killed at least 25 people.
And, in an apparent blow to press freedom in Iraq, the government ordered the Arabic satellite network Al-Arabiya to shut down its Baghdad operations for one month, state television reported.
The network said Iraqi police arrived at its offices later today to enforce the order. In Baghdad, six bombings — including three by suicide car bombers — killed at least 17 of the 25.
The US military command also said two soldiers and a marine were killed Wednesday in separate incidents. One soldier and the marine died in Anbar province west of Baghdad and the other soldier near Hawija, 150 miles north of the capital.
The relentless killing in Baghdad's streets seemed to reinforce updated figures from Iraq's health ministry showing there was no significant decline in violent deaths in the capital last month.
The US military, which has for the past month been carrying out a joint security crackdown with Iraqi troops in the capital, insisted today that the murder rate in Baghdad had fallen by 52 per cent in August.
Baghdad recorded more than 1,500 violent deaths in August, according to final figures released this week by the Health Ministry. The final count was roughly the same as the figure the ministry released for July, before the security operation.
The US military deployed extra troops in Baghdad for the sweep and the number of US troops in Iraq rose to 145,000 this week, the highest since December and 15,000 more than a month ago.
In Washington, US defence department spokesman Lt Col Todd Vician said the increase was temporary and due to a routine rotation of forces that led to units overlapping.
As Shia prime minister Nouri al Maliki signed a document taking control of Iraq's small naval and air forces and the 8th Iraqi Army Division, the top US General in Iraq, George Casey, promised to "continue to fight with you to protect the Iraqi people wherever they are threatened."
"Today is an important milestone, but we still have a way to go," Casey said during the ceremony. It remained unclear how quickly Iraqi forces would be prepared to take over their own security. At the nearby parliament, Iraqi parliament speaker Mahmoud al Mashhadani interrupted a session after a draft bill submitted by the largest Shiite party led to accusations from Sunni Arabs that they were trying to divide Iraq.
A live broadcast from parliament was pulled off the air amid acrimonious debate. Sunni Arab legislator Saleh al Mutlaq threatened his people "will not stay in a parliament that leads to the division of Iraq" and threatened to boycott any session that sought to approve such legislation.
The concept of federalism is enshrined in the new Iraqi constitution, and the Kurds in the north already have their own autonomous region. However, special legislation and a referendum would be needed to establish a federation comprised of autonomous regions.
Both the north and mainly Shiite south are rich in oil, and Sunni Arabs could end up squeezed into Baghdad and Iraq's western provinces — which have no resources. Many Sunnis fear that federalism will lead to the break-up of the country.
AP