British troops hold last church service in south Iraq before risky move
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Hundreds of British troops held a final church service in the relative calm of southern Iraq on Sunday as they prepared to head towards danger zones nearer Baghdad to help US forces tackle rebel hotspots.
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With British troops nearing the end of their mission in a US-controlled zone south of Baghdad, observers believe Washington will call again on its chief ally for reinforcements in the build-up to next month's crucial Iraqi elections.
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British troops are likely to be deployed outside southern Iraq for the first time in support of US troops in some of the worst trouble spots in the country, including Baghdad, it emerged last night.
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Defence secretary confirms planning is under way for UK troops to leave southern Iraqi province.
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Britain's military deployment in southern Iraq is to be cut by 500 to 5,000 over the next few months, the Ministry of Defence announced yesterday, just six days after British troops withdrew from their base at Basra Palace.
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British forces formally handed over responsibility for the last region in Iraq under their control.
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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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Iraq formally took security control of the southern oil province of Basra from British forces on Sunday, paving the way for Britain to sharply reduce its nearly 5,000-strong troop presence.
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Britain agreed Thursday to send 850 of its soldiers from relatively peaceful southern Iraq to a volatile area near Baghdad, freeing U.S. troops to step up attacks on insurgent strongholds west of the capital.
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BASRA, Iraq  - British troops quit the Iraqi city of Basra on Monday, leaving the southern 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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A battle group of British troops rolled out of southern Iraq on a US-requested mission to deadlier areas near Baghdad, in a major political gamble for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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22 October 2004 -- Some 850 British troops have started preparations to redeploy from southern Iraq to outside of Baghdad, in response to a US request for help in stabilizing the country prior to elections planned for January 2005.
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WASHINGTON - As British troops pull out of their last base in Basra, some military commanders and civilian government officials in the area are concerned that the transition could leave them and a major supply route to Baghdad at greater risk of attack.
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Two British soldiers have been injured near their post south of Baghdad in Iraq, the Ministry of Defence says.
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BASRA, Iraq  - Britain handed over security to Iraqi forces on Sunday in the last of four provinces it once patrolled, effectively marking the end of nearly five years of British control of southern Iraq.
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Nearly 800 British forces left their base in southern Iraq on Wednesday, heading north toward Baghdad to replace US troops who are expected to take part in an offensive against insurgent strongholds.
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The final withdrawal of British troops in Iraq from their Basra base is almost complete, sources tell the BBC.