Iraq police block militia as UK troops quit centre

[unhappycamper]

Iraq police block militia as UK troops quit centre
Reuters
Sun Aug 26, 2007 5:56PM BST


BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi police thwarted an attempt by Shi'ite militiamen to occupy a joint command centre in the southern city of Basra from which British troops withdrew overnight, a police spokesman said on Sunday.

Britain, which has been responsible for security in Basra since it joined the United States in invading Iraq in 2003, has begun withdrawing this year and is expected to pull its forces out of their last base inside the city within two weeks.

Basra police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Abdul-Kareem al-Zaidi said militiamen had tried to invade the provisional joint coordination centre (PJCC) that British troops had shared with the Iraqi army, possibly to ransack it.

~snip~

The British military, which still has about 500 men at Basra Palace, its city centre base, said Iraqi security forces had not asked for help.

~snip~

British bases in the southern provinces of Maysan and Muthanna were ransacked by Iraqis after the British handed them over to Iraqi security forces in 2006.

~snip~

Britain says its troops are no longer needed in Basra because the mainly Shi'ite city has not been the scene of sectarian fighting, as has Baghdad further north.


more


uhc comment:

Hey chickenhawks! Uncle Sam needs you now, more than ever. We've lowered the standards so you can join and help us spread democracy. The boys are waiting for you down at the recruiting station. Come on down!