Maliki says Iraqis to take over province in July

BAGHDAD, June 19 (Reuters) Iraq's prime minister said today his forces would take over security in the southern province of Muthanna in July, where the British oversee a multinational contingent including Japanese troops.

Transferring security to Iraq's fledgling security forces is a key part of British and US plans to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Muthanna would be the first of Iraq's 15 provinces outside of the relatively peaceful Kurdish north to come under full Iraqi control.

''Muthanna is the first Iraqi province that will have the honour of being transferred from multinational forces to Iraqi forces,'' Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a news conference.

''The security file will be handed over completely next month and we will determine the exact date later on''.

Maliki made his comments hours after Britain's Defence Minister Des Browne arrived in Baghdad for a two-day visit.

Britain, with about 7,000 troops in Iraq, has 150 soldiers deployed in largely Shi'ite Muthanna. Australia and Japan also have forces in the province neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Muthanna has not seen the levels of violence that have gripped Basra province, also under British control, where there have been frequent clashes between British troops and Shi'ite militias, prompting Maliki to declare a state of emergency.

REUTERS SHB VC1657