Iraq says ready to take over Basra after UK pullout
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The Iraqi government said on Thursday it was ready to take over security in southern Iraq once Britain withdraws 1,600 troops in the coming months, but insisted that British forces would still be needed for support.
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Britain said Monday it expects to withdraw thousands of its 7,000 military personnel from Iraq by the end of next year, while Poland and Italy announced the impending withdrawal of their remaining troops.
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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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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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Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Thursday his government's forces would be able to take over security command from U.S. troops by June 2007 -- a move which could allow the United States to start withdrawing.
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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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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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Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki says Iraq's forces will be ready to assume security control of the country in June 2007.
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Â· Siege fear as Britain plans handover to Iraqis Â· Commanders say they expect attacks to increase
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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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The British Army is to start pulling troops out of Iraq next month despite the deteriorating security situation in much of the country, The Observer has learnt.
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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 forces formally handed over responsibility for the last region in Iraq under their control.
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Iraqis welcomed the news on Wednesday that Britain and Denmark are preparing to dramatically scale back their military forces in and around the unruly southern port city of Basra.
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LONDON - British Prime Minister Tony Blair will on Wednesday announce a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq just as thousands of additional U.S. troops ...Comment
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair will on Wednesday announce a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq just as thousands of additional U.S. troops were arriving there to try to restore order in Baghdad.
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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.