Britain to maintain 4,000 troops in Iraq - report
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
London, May 2, IRNA
UK-Iraq
The British government will maintain a garrison of 4,000 troops at Basra airport for the forseeable future, regardless of the pressures on the UK's armed forces, it was reported Friday.
The decision to keep the garrison there for the long term comes after General David Petraeus, commander of US forces in Iraq held talks with British Defence Secretary Des Browne and Chief of Defence Staff Sir Jock Stirrup in London on Thursday.
The troops were needed to continue their task of training Iraqi forces and also to maintain what officials called "political credence" with the US, according to the Guardian newspaper quoting defence officials.
Following an hour's meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Petraeus said British forces had been "invaluable" in providing intelligence, air and logistics support for Iraq troops engaged in the recent operations against militia elements.
But when asked how long the US wanted 4,000 British troops stationed outside Basra, he said tight now he did not know but would "work [it] out in the next month or two as we look at the so-called troop-to-task analysis."
Britain's defence secretary confirmed last week that plans to reduce troops numbers to 2,500 this spring had been but on hold following the flare-up in violence.
About 800 US troops, including special forces, were sent to help the Iraqi army and police deal with the insurgency. Although the UK has refused to say, according to the Guardian, 150 British troops were also involved.
2220**345**1771
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
