Britain welcomes transfer of Iraqi province
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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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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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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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British forces formally handed over responsibility for the last region in Iraq under their control.
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The handover of the oil-rich province of Basra by the British military to Iraqi forces will not diminish Britain's role in Iraq, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Monday.
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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 agreed on Thursday to a US request for Britain troops to move to dangerous areas near Baghdad, a politically risky step for Tony Blair who could face a sharp backlash if casualty rates start rising.
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British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw welcomed a disarmament deal with radical cleric Moqtada Sadr, calling it a model for how violence-scarred Iraq can be stabilized before January elections.
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Britain stressed it was &quot;on the same page&quot; as Washington after the government announced its first large-scale troop withdrawal since the onset of the Iraq war, while the United States ramped up its presence there.
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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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The United States on Thursday applauded Britain&#39;s decision to agree to a US request to redeploy 850 crack troops in Iraq to a volatile area west of Baghdad, calling it a sign of London&#39;s commitment to the Iraqi people and international security.
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With the insurgency in Iraq showing no signs of abating as election day nears, the British government agreed to a US request to redeploy 850 crack troops to a volatile area to the west of Baghdad.
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Pakistan has welcomed a move by Britain to ban a tribal rebel group waging an insurgency in the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan.
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THE US had asked Britain to redeploy troops stationed in the UK-controlled zone in southern Iraq, the Ministry of Defence confirmed today.
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THE DEAL: Responding to a U.S. request, Britain agrees to send 850 troops in south Iraq to an area near Baghdad so U.S. soldiers can step up attacks on rebel strongholds west of the capital.
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The British Ministry of Defense confirmed on Friday that British troops redeployed to provide military assistance to US troops in central Iraq have arrived at their new base near Baghdad.
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The US government has welcomed Britain&#39;s decision to send 850 Black Watch soldiers closer to Baghdad. The troops from the Black Watch are preparing today to move from Basra to an area south west of Baghdad to support US troops.