The United States is making preparations to handover the security of northern Iraq to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces today, government sources reported Tuesday.

Observers say the move is significant because from now on the security of northern Iraq will now be in the hands of the Kurds and thus Turkey will have to address the problem of PKK militants holed up in the Kandil Mountains with the Erbil administration.

The United States as the leader of the occupation coalition forces has been in charge of all the security operations throughout Iraq despite the fact that the country has an elected government.

The U.S. has handed over the security files of four southern Shiite provinces to the local administration and the Iraqi federal government. Today the Americans will be handing over the security files of Erbil, Sulaimania and Dukoh provinces to the Kurdish forces at a ceremony in Erbil attended by U.S.. Korean and Iraqi Kurdish officials as well as representatives from the Baghdad government.

Northern Iraq which is run by the Kurdistan Regional Government has been generally immune to the violence that has created chaos in Iraq. The U.S. seems to feel the Kurds are fully capable of can providing security for the region with their Peshmerga forces.

Despite two recent terrorist attacks U.S. officials are reportedly confident that the Kurdish forces are fully capable of dealing effectively with the terrorists.

The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Interior Ministry was attacked by a truck bomb on May 9, killing 14 people and wounding more than 80. Insurgents then targeted the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) office in Makhmur on May 13, killing 33 people and wounding 60 others. Makhmur is a Kurdish-populated town lying just outside the Kurdistan region.

The news comes at a time when there is a fiery debate going on in Turkey with calls for a cross border military operation against northern Iraq.

Turkey has said the U.S. and the Baghdad government have to take effective steps to finish off the PKK in northern Iraq. More than 3,000 PKK militants are finding refuge in the rugged northern Iraqi Kurdish mountains and Turkey wants this to end.

A senior Turkish delegation visited Baghdad over the weekend to emphasize Turkish demands.

Observers feel with the Kurdish forces given direct responsibility to provide security for northern Iraq also means the Erbil administration will have an added responsibility on dealing with the PKK.