Britain eyes Basra handover to Iraqis in November
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
BASRA, Iraq, Oct 2 (AFP): Britain expects to hand over the province of Basra to Iraqi control this autumn, hopefully by the end of November, the British military said Tuesday.
Military spokesman Major Mike Shearer told AFP that the pull-out of troops from their headquarters at Basra Palace one month ago meant Iraqi forces were already responsible for most of the security in the port city.
"We reduced our operational footprint to allow Iraqi forces to take an increasing lead in policing their own city but we have retained repsonsibility," Shearer said.
Military spokesman Major Mike Shearer told AFP that the pull-out of troops from their headquarters at Basra Palace one month ago meant Iraqi forces were already responsible for most of the security in the port city.
"We reduced our operational footprint to allow Iraqi forces to take an increasing lead in policing their own city but we have retained repsonsibility," Shearer said.