Iraq/UK/US

British forces out of Iraq

Article published on the 2009-03-31 Latest update 2009-03-31 14:35 TU

Iraqi soldiers preparing for the handover
(Photo: Reuters)

British forces have initiated their withdrawal from Iraq six years after a joint invasion with the US. A ceremony marked the official end of British military presence in the country.

The army base at Basra was handed over to US control on Tuesday and the Royal Marines flag lowered.

A ceremony held at the base marked the losses the British army has suffered in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion. 179 British servicemen have been killed during operations in the country.

“You have restored hope where chaos reigned,” said General Ray Odierno, the senior US military officer in Iraq, to 300 guests.

Major General Hawedi Mohammed, the senior Iraq army officer in Basra, made a speech at the weekend at the Shaat al-Arab hotel in which he praised the British army for their support.

The province of Basra and its airport has been under Iraqi control since January and an agreement between Baghdad and London in 2008 said that the remaining 4,100 British troops would finish training the Iraq army and leave by June.

The US has also committed to withdrawing forces from all major Iraq towns and cities by 30 June and the whole country by 2011.

The withdrawal is almost fifty years after the British army last left Iraq in May 1959, ending a presence that started in 1918.