UK hands control of Basra to Iraqi forces
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BASRA, Iraq  - Britain handed responsibility for security in Basra province to Iraqi forces on Sunday, effectively marking the end of nearly five years of British control of the southern part of Iraq.
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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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The commander of British troops in southern Iraq has revealed Saturday details of how they would pull out of the city of Basra and leave the way clear for Iraqi units to take control.
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Britain put Iraqis in command of the  main Iraqi army unit in Basra on Tuesday, a move billed as  paving the way for Washington's main ally to formally announce  major cutbacks in troops.
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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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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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BASRA, Iraq  - Britain will transfer responsibility for security in Basra province to Iraqi forces on Sunday, effectively marking the end of nearly five years of British control of the southern part of Iraq.
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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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Britain will reduce its contingent of just over 7,000 troops in Iraq by almost half in May as it hands the main province of Basra over to Iraqi army and security forces, a newspaper reported.
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BASRA, Iraq  - British troops were quitting the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Sunday night in another step towards handing over the province to Iraqi control and paving the way for an eventual withdrawal of British forces from Iraq.
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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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The operation to hand over security in Basra to Iraqi forces has been completed successfully, Tony Blair says.
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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 forces release two dozen Iraqi prisoners, though UK government denies doing deal with Mahdi army to stave off last-minute attacks in run-up to withdrawal from Basra.
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BASRA, Iraq  - British troops quit the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Monday, an Iraqi general said, leaving the oil hub without British forces for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
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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 550 UK troops based in Basra have begun their pull-out from their base at Basra Palace.