BAGHDAD, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- A U.S. military commander in Iraq says local citizens groups have been the turning point for securing an area once referred to as the triangle of death.

Army Col. Michael Kershaw, commander of 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, says the area in Euphrates River Valley, once a hotbed for militant action, now has approximately 16,000 citizen-formed groups working with Iraqi army soldiers and coalition forces to pacify their neighborhoods according to the American Forces Press Service.

“We’ve really seen a dramatic reversal in the security situation,” said Kershaw, in a statement.

Kershaw and his troops have been in Iraq for 14 months patrolling a 300-square-mile area southeast of Baghdad.

The colonel says the citizens groups have been the turning point in establishing stability within his area of operations. Officials say the citizens have enrolled to form the armed citizens groups, many of which are performing security patrols and checkpoint duties that have led to the capture of more than 85 terrorist leaders.