Under the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, the U.S. army closed Camp Bucca in Basra Province, southern Iraq on Wednesday (September 16). The camp, which served as a prison for Iraqi detainees, has become infamous for the harsh treatment of detainees. 

[Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth King, U.S. Army]:
"It will be history and we are gonna move forward and progress."

In recent years, human rights organizations published reports that documented human rights violations committed in Camp Bucca. Crimes included detaining people without judicial charges, limiting detainees' food and water, insulting religious beliefs, and forbidding detainees from communicating with their families for long periods of time.

The 180 current detainees at Camp Bucca will be transferred to Camp Cropper in Baghdad.

Under the bilateral security agreement that calls for a full U.S. withdrawal by the end of 2011, the U.S. military has to hand over Iraqis who are still detained as suspected insurgents or militia members.

Detainees in U.S. custody have been held at Camp Bucca, Camp Cropper at Baghdad airport and Camp Taji, a new U.S. detention center located in northern Baghdad.

The U.S. military plans to transform Camp Bucca into a military base.