US hands over former Baghdad HQ to Iraqi authorities

The US military has handed over Camp Victory, a sprawling base at the edge of Baghdad that used to be its headquarters, to the Iraqi government.

US military spokesman Col Barry Johnson said the Victory Base Complex – as it is formally called by the US military – was signed over this morning and is now under the “full authority” of the Iraqi government.

Camp Victory has served as the headquarters for American forces and was home to senior commanders.

Some parts of the compound are already being used by Iraqi forces, but the government is still deciding what to do with prime real estate such as the palaces used by the US military.