BASRA, Iraq, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- The closure of the Camp Bucca prison in Iraq reaffirms the U.S. military commitment to the bilateral security agreement with Baghdad, a U.S. general said.
The U.S. military transferred the remaining 180 detainees left at the facility in Basra to a Baghdad prison Thursday.
Brig. Gen. David Quantock, the commanding general of the unit overseeing Camp Bucca, said the closure was a sign of progress and commitment in Iraq.
"It's a testament to the dedication and the hard work of the government of Iraq and U.S. forces," he said.
Baghdad and Washington in 2008 signed a Status of Forces Agreement outlining the provisions for a gradual withdrawal of U.S. combat forces by the end of 2011.
The U.S. military in Iraq said it plans to transfer water and wastewater facilities, as well as ice and brick manufacturing complexes at Camp Bucca, over to the Iraqi government in 2010.
Those facilities will allow Baghdad to produce 2 million gallons of potable water each day and process some 1.2 million gallons of wastewater for the use in the agricultural sector.
The detention facility at Camp Bucca is scheduled for dismantling by the end of December.
The camp was named in honor of Ronald Bucca, a New York City fire marshal who lost his life in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
