BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- The U.S. military closed its detention facility in southern Iraq on Thursday after a plane carried the last remaining prisoners to another facility in Baghdad . Iraqi detainees walk around Camp Bucca detention centre on May 20 , 2008 . The United States has been releasing detainees or transferring custody to the Iraqi government , a goal spelled out in the bilateral security agreement negotiated last year between the two nations . Since February , the Americans have released about 750 detainees from its detention facilities and transferred 200 more to Iraqi authorities each month , the military said . Camp Bucca , in the southern port city of Basra , was one of three prisons operated by U.S.-led forces in Iraq . The other two are Camp Cropper , adjacent to the Baghdad airport , and Camp Taji , just north of the capital . Both camps are scheduled to be handed over to the Iraqis next year . The last 180 detainees from Bucca were airlifted by military transport early Thursday morning to one of those two other facilities . A total of 8,305 detainees still remain in U.S. custody , about half the number at the start of the year . `` I 'm pleased to say the Camp Bucca detention facility is now closed , '' said Brig . Gen. David Quantock , the commander of the task force handling the detainee releases and transfers .
Baghdad miliary closes Camp Bucca , a detention center in southern Iraq . Last remaining prisoners were transferred to another center in Iraq . Closure is in accordance with bilateral security agreement negotiated last year . 8,305 remaining camps set to be handed over to the Americans last year .