UK hands control of Basra to Iraqi forces
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BASRA, Iraq  - Britain handed over security in Basra province to Iraqi forces on Sunday, effectively marking the end of nearly five years of British control of southern Iraq.
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British troops began withdrawing Sunday from their base inside the southern Iraqi city of Basra &#151; their final position in the country's second-largest city, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.
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BASRA, Iraq - British troops were quitting the southern Iraqi city of Basra last night in another step toward handing over the province to Iraqi control and preparing for an eventual withdrawal of British forces from Iraq.
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BASRA, Iraq  - British troops were quitting the southern Iraqi city of Basra overnight in a move that will end the British presence in the oil hub for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
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British troops have begun pulling out of the southern Iraqi city of Basra in a move north to take over operations previously carried out by US forces.
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Defence Secretary Des Browne said in comments published in the British press on Wednesday that Britain was &quot;on course&quot; to hand over a base in the southern Iraqi city of Basra next month.
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Iraq is ready to take over security in the entire southern province of Basra from the British military, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told visiting Defence Secretary Des Browne on Wednesday.
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British troops are pulling out of a base  at a palace in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Sunday, a  British Ministry of Defense source said.
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Today the British army formally transfers command to the Iraqis, but factional warfare is growing
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The UK foreign secretary welcomes news that Iraqi forces will be taking control of Basra province in December.
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British troops will formally take a back seat to Iraqi forces in the southern province of Basra on Sunday with the handover of security responsibility to government troops.
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British Army soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Duke of Wellington Regiment, move toward the center of Basra, southern Iraq, Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004, during clashes with armed gunmen.
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The drawdown of British troops in Basra is a sign of a new Prime Minister's priorities
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The US military formally hands over control of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad to Iraq.
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British troops have rolled north from Basra to take over a deadly area near Baghdad and free up US troops for a widely expected attack on the rebel-held city of Falluja.
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Britain agreed Thursday to send 850 of its soldiers from relatively peaceful southern Iraq to a volatile area near Baghdad, freeing U.S. troops to step up attacks on insurgent strongholds west of the capital.
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Britain will deploy 360 extra troops to Iraq later this year to reinforce its 7,200-strong force in the restive southern city of Basra.