UK hands control of Basra to Iraq 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 Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed with Iraq&#039;s new leadership Monday that Iraqi security forces would start assuming full responsibility for some provinces and cities next month, beginning a process leading to the eventual withdrawal of all coalition forces.
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The final withdrawal of British troops in Iraq from their Basra base is almost complete, sources tell the BBC.
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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.
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Iraq said on Monday it will take over   security control of a second of its 18 provinces this week in   the relatively calm British and Italian-patrolled south.
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. British troops moved north from Basra Wednesday to take over a deadly area near Baghdad and free up US troops for a possible attack on Falluja.
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British forces surround Basra and close its border with Iran in support of Iraq's new security plan.
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Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraqi security forces will be ready to take over security duties in the tumultuous southern city of Basra when British forces hand them over at the beginning of September.
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The United States on Thursday handed   over formal command of the Iraqi army to Prime Minister Nuri   al-Maliki's government, a significant step toward the   withdrawal of about 150,000 U.S.-led foreign troops.
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Iraqi forces are due to take control of a second province in the south of the country from UK and Italian troops.
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LONDON -- Responding to a US request, Britain agreed yesterday to transfer 850 troops from relatively calm southern Iraq into a stronghold of the Iraqi insurgency near Baghdad.
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Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has said that British forces could transfer control of the southern Iraqi city of Basra to the Iraq government by early next year.
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British troops moved from Basra on Wednesday to take over an area near Baghdad in a move that could set the stage for a US attack on rebel-held Falluja.
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British Foreign Secretary David Miliband Sunday hailed the transfer of security control in Basra province to Iraqi forces as "a major step forward."
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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, a military spokesman said.
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UK forces are to hand back control of security in Basra province to Iraq, four-and-a-half years after the invasion.
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Iraq formally took security control of the southern oil province of Basra from British forces on Sunday, paving the way for Britain to sharply reduce its nearly 5,000-strong troop presence.