The US has formally handed over power in Iraq, two days ahead of schedule.

At a low-key ceremony in Baghdad, US administrator Paul Bremer transferred sovereignty to an Iraqi judge, before leaving the country by plane.

Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who also took part in the ceremony in the heavily-guarded Green Zone, said it was "a historic day".

In a more colourful ceremony hours later, Mr Allawi and his cabinet ministers were officially sworn in.

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The BBC's world affairs editor John Simpson in Baghdad says bringing the handover forward was a clever tactical move that wrong-footed the Iraqi resistance.

However, he says it actually underlines the US-led coalition's big failure - its inability to stop the violence.
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"I call on our people to stand united to expel the foreign terrorists who are killing our children and destroying our country," Mr Allawi said in a televised address.

He said the government's programme would be announced in the next few days - it would build a society for all Iraqis, irrespective of ethnicity, colour or region.

Our world affairs editor says now the interim government has taken over the job of trying to restore order, Mr Allawi knows he will be judged according to his success or failure.

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