The US army has handed over a school used as a military base to Iraqi security forces.

At the handover ceremony, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Boccardi of the US army described it as a "tremendous step forward".

"I think it's a tremendous step forward. We've passed the possession of this security station to the Iraqi police, and with that passes the security, more importantly the security of the local population, which is really the key, that is the symbolic key."

The move was made under a US-Iraqi security agreement, which also calls for US troops to completely leave Iraq by 2012.

Situated in northern Baghdad, the school has witnessed a number of attacks either targeting US troops or Iraqi security forces.

Violence has dropped by more than 80 percent around Iraq and particularly in Baghdad since its peak more than a year ago.

Last weekend's relatively violence-free provincial elections, were hailed by US President Barack Obama. He has also hinted that a substantial number of US troops could return home within a year.