US troops have taken over operations at the Spanish military base in south-central Iraq as Spanish troops continue with their withdrawal from the country, the Defence Ministry in Madrid said today.

The transfer ceremony was made in Diwaniyah, 100 miles south of Baghdad.

At the ceremony, Spanish General Jose Manuel Munoz thanked Spain’s coalition partners and the population of Diwaniyah for their affection, the Defence Ministry said.

The Spanish flag will fly over the base until the departure of the last convoy, with Gen Munoz remaining its commander until then, the Ministry added.

Some 1,000 logistic experts and other troops are still in Diwaniyah to ship material home, and are expected to leave Iraq by May 27.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose Socialist party won general elections in March, ordered the troops home saying he saw no sign that his terms for keeping them there beyond June 30 would be met.

Those conditions were that the United Nations assume military and political control of the occupation.

Some 1,300 troops were sent to Iraq by former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar to support the US-led occupation.

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