By NNN-KUNA,
London : Britain’s military force in Iraq will remain 4,100 strong for the “next few months”, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the House of Commons.
He said that troop reductions will be made later as a “fundamental change of mission” occurs in the early months of next year.
Updating MPs following his visit to Iraq last weekend, Brown said it was time to complete “the key tasks” agreed with the Iraqi government. These included preparing Basra airport for transfer to Iraqi control, providing support for provincial elections and training the 14th Division of the Iraqi Army in Basra.
The main opposition Conservative Party leader David Cameron hailed the “incredible job” done in “difficult circumstances” by British troops and warned against premature announcements on troop reductions.
In a statement just ahead of the summer parliamentary recess, Brown also called for the immediate release of British hostages “unjustifiably” held for more than a year in Iraq.
He said in recent months there had been a “marked improvement” in conditions in Basra, with incidents of indirect fire on British troops down from 200 a month to an average of less than five a month since last April.
Violent incidents across Iraq were at their lowest since 2004 and the improvements in security were increasingly Iraqi-led.
The focus of the 4,100 troops still in southern Iraq was now on completing the task of training and mentoring the 14th Division of the Iraqi Army in Basra. “It is right that as we do so we continue for the next few months to provide support at these levels,” he said.
Other remaining military tasks included preparing to hand control of Basra airport to the Iraqis and continuing to develop the capacity of the Iraqi Navy and Marines. “It is now right we complete the tasks we have set ourselves,” Brown told the MPs.
The prime minister said local elections were expected by the end of this year and military commanders believed the Iraqis would be able to take over development of the airport by the end of this year.
The first stage of training the 14th Division was likely to be completed around the turn of the year. “As we complete these tasks … we will continue to reduce the number of British troops in Iraq,” he said.
Future decisions would be based on military advice on the ground, “but I can tell the House (of Commons) that just as last year we moved from combat to ‘overwatch’, we would expect a further fundamental change of mission in the first months of 2009 as we make the transition to a long-term bilateral partnership with Iraq”.
“I believe it is right that having successfully trained and mentored large numbers of the Iraqi forces, and having successfully worked with the Iraqis on a new economic development strategy, we complete the key tasks we have agreed with the Iraqi government,” he added.