The U.S. military will next month transfer responsibility for paying 100,000 mostly Sunni fighters battling al-Qaeda to Baghdad's Shiite-led government, the military said on Thursday. The government of Iraq and the coalition forces have agreed in principle to transfer all 100,000 "Sons of Iraq" from October 1, U.S. military spokesman Major John Hall told AFP.| Start spending some of that $79 billion surplus ... |
The rest are mainly spread across Sunni regions of Iraq, especially in the provinces of Salaheddin, Diyala, Nineveh and Kirkuk.
Over the past year, the 100,000 Sahwa members have been credited with helping to reduce levels of violence in Iraq to a four-year low. In recognition of their efforts the Sahwa hope eventually to be absorbed into the legitimate security forces, although some Iraqi leaders, mainly Shiites, say the groups are nothing more than dangerous private militias.