Voice of America, 1 October 2008

The U.S. military in Iraq is transferring command of Sunni Arab militia groups that fight against al-Qaida to the Iraqi government.

Beginning Wednesday members of these so-called "Awakening Councils", also called "Sons of Iraq", will receive their salaries from the Iraqi government - not the U.S. military.

Many of the 100,000 Sons of Iraq are former insurgents. Their help has contributed to the fall in violence across the country.

About 20 percent of the fighters are expected to be integrated into Iraq's security forces, while the rest will take other government jobs.

In a separate development, Iraqi officials say 359 civilians were killed in the country in September. That is 23 fewer civilians than were killed in August.