US officials remain in Saddam’s palace despite handover

US authorities may have handed power to an Iraqi government, but hundreds of Americans will still occupy one of Saddam Hussein’s largest palaces in central Baghdad for several months.

Iraqis, led by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, are fully in charge of the nation of 25 million people, although some 160,000 US-led troops will remain to help with security.

Despite the outward trappings of a handover, however, some things remain unchanged, including the presence of several hundred US, British and other foreign nationals in the heavily fortified Green Zone which dominates central Baghdad.