The US-led coalition formally transferred sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on Monday.    

US civil administrator for Iraq Paul Bremer handed legal documents to interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in a low-profile ceremony held in the latter's office in the heavily-fortified headquarters, or the "Green Zone" at about 10:30 am local time (0630 GMT).

"It's a great pleasure to be here this day to formally hand over sovereignty on behalf of the coalition," Bremer said on the ceremony.

"This is a historic day," Allawi said. "We feel we are capable of controlling the security situation."

Bremer also handed Allawi and Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar a letter from US President George W. Bush, requesting a resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries which were frozen in 1990 after then President Saddam Hussein invaded neighboring Kuwait.

Bremer will leave Iraq later in the day, according to coalition sources.

He started a series of farewell meetings with Iraqis weeks before his authority ended with the sovereignty handover.  

Newly appointed US Ambassador to Iraq John Negroponte will arrive here to replace Bremer but would not enjoy the same authority that Bremer had over the past 14 months.

The interim Iraqi government was sworn in on June 1 and will run the country till general elections early next year.  

Monday's handover step was finished two days ahead of an originally scheduled date, which was apparently aimed at surprising insurgents who threatened to torpedo the process.  

Recent weeks have witnessed waves of violence on the eve of the power transfer, during which a US soldier, a Pakistani and three Turks were kidnapped in Iraq and a series of deadly coordinated car bombings rocked five cities in northern and central Iraq.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2004)