Britain may hand Basra to Iraqis soon, but no rapid pullout
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Britain could transfer control of the southern city of Basra to Iraqi authorities early next year, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said, but aides downplayed prospects of a rapid pullout.
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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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About 850 British troops in Iraq are moving north toward Baghdad from the city of Basra. The arrival of the British troops appears to further indicate an impending major ground assault west of Baghdad.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair is  expected to announce on Wednesday that Britain will start to  withdraw its troops from Iraq within weeks, British media said.
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to announce on Wednesday that Britain will start to withdraw its troops from Iraq within weeks, British media said.
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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 troops in Iraq have an important job to do and there is no fixed timetable for their withdrawal, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday, despite speculation that Britain will soon announce a major pullout.
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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 could be sent to some of Iraq's most volatile areas to back up US forces, the BBC learns.
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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  - British troops quit the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Monday, an Iraqi general said, ending 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 Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to announce on Wednesday that Britain will start to withdraw its troops from Iraq within weeks, British media said.Comment
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After handing control of Basra province to Iraqi authorities at the weekend, British officials are hoping the region's economic development will hasten its path towards stability.
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LONDON, Sept. 21 -- The commander of the British army said Friday that the recent withdrawal of British forces from downtown Basra was part of a "successful" strategic plan for Iraq and not the result of pressure from Shiite militias.
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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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London - Britain agreed on Thursday to meet a United States request and redeploy a battalion of British troops into volatile central Iraq, despite strong opposition within the governing Labour Party.
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Britain is urging the United States to announce a possible timetable for the withdrawal of the countries' troops from Iraq.