Iraqis take Basra command as UK plans troop cuts
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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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Britain has received a request from Washington to redeploy some of its troops in Iraq from their current base in the southern city of Basra into restive US-held areas but is still considering a response, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told parliament.
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BASRA, Iraq  - British troops withdrew Saturday from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's main office in the southern city of Basra, a day after occupying the building and seizing an arms cache in fighting that killed three and wounded five, the British military and police said.
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British forces formally handed over responsibility Sunday for the last region in Iraq under their control, marking the start of what Britain hopes will be a transition to a mission aimed at aiding the economy and providing jobs in an oil-rich region beset by militia infighting.
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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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British troops today handed over responsibilty for security in the southern Iraqi province of Basra, a major landmark in the scaling-back of the foreign military presence nearly five years on from the U.S.-led invasion. "As you step up, we step back," British commander, Maj. Gen. Graham Binns, told Iraqi leaders.
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Five hundred British troops began withdrawing Sunday from their base in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the Ministry of Defense said.
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Shia militia to target British troops after its Basra leader was killed by Iraqi forces
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The commander of British troops in southern Iraq has revealed Saturday details of how they would pull out of the city of Basra and leave the way clear for Iraqi units to take control.
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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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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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The violence occurred on a day when Iraqi officials announced a plan to take over operational command of IraqÂs army from the U.S. next week.
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BAGHDAD -- Iraq is set to take control of its armed forces command today, a major step on its painful path toward independence and an essential move before international troops can eventually withdraw.
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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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British forces formally handed over responsibility for Basra province Sunday, the last region in Iraq under their control.
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. British troops moved north from Basra Wednesday to take over a deadly area near Baghdad and free up US troops for a possible attack on Falluja.
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The officer overseeing the withdrawal of UK troops from central Basra says it was an "important step".