UK to hand control of last province to Iraq forces
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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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The final withdrawal of British troops in Iraq from their Basra base is almost complete, sources tell the BBC.
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Security control for a province that was once Iraq's most dangerous could transfer to Iraqi forces by March, say officials.
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In a step fraught with risks for Prime Minister Tony Blair ( search ), Britain agreed Thursday to send 850 of its soldiers from relatively peaceful southern Iraq to a volatile area near Baghdad, freeing U.S. ...
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U.S.-led forces turned over control of Iraq's military command to the Shiite-led government Thursday, a key step toward the eventual withdrawal of foreign troops.
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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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Any British troops sent from southern Iraq to help out in the more dangerous US-controlled zone to the north would only be redeployed for a few weeks, according to the top British general in Iraq.
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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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Iraqi forces for the first time took over security responsibility for an entire province Thursday, a milestone in the American plan to transfer control of the entire country by the end of next year.
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Defence secretary confirms planning is under way for UK troops to leave southern Iraqi province.
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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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LONDON, Sept. 3 -- British troops completed a withdrawal from downtown Basra on Monday, moving to an airport outside the city, their last base in Iraq. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the move part of a British strategy to shift from combat to an "overwatch" role.
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British troops begin the move north to take over operations from US troops in central Iraq.
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British troops are likely to be based in southern Iraq for the foreseeable future, army commander says.
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Britain welcomed Tuesday an announcement that Iraqi forces will take over the southern province of Basra, currently under the security control of around 5,200 British troops, in mid-December.
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LONDON -- Britain has agreed to a US request to redeploy British troops from southern Iraq to an area closer to Baghdad. The british defence secretary made the announcement in the House of Commons.
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British forces formally handed over responsibility for Basra province Sunday, the last region in Iraq under their control.