British Troops Pull Out of Base in Iraq's Basra

British troops had not been "bombed out", says Major-General Jonathan Shaw

British troops in Iraq's southern Basra oil port pulled out of their heavily attacked base in the heart of the city on Tuesday, the first to be handed to Iraqi forces who are slowly taking control of security.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said in February that Britain would begin withdrawing a quarter of its 7,000 troops, who are stationed mainly in and around Basra in Iraq's largely stable Shi'ite south, in the coming months.

The commander of British forces in southern Iraq, Major- General Jonathan Shaw, characterised the pullout, on the fourth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, as a repositioning of his troops and not a withdrawal.

He dismissed suggestions that British troops had been "bombed out" of the Old State Building in central Basra, a frequent target of mortar attack, saying the pullout was according to a timetable.

The troops have moved to Basra airport, the biggest of four bases still in British hands. The others are the Shatt al-Arab Hotel in northern Basra, the British consulate at Basra Palace and the large Shuaiba logistical base west of the city.

"I urge people to reject criminals and unite behind the Iraqi security forces," Shaw told a news conference with the governor of Basra and the commander of the Iraqi army's 10th Division.

While the city has not experienced the levels of violence seen in Baghdad, criminal gangs have taken root amid fighting between rival Shi'ite militias and political parties for control of oil revenues. British forces have also targeted criminal elements within the local police force.

Blair told parliament in February that British troop levels in Iraq would be reduced by 1,600 but that soldiers would remain into 2008 to provide support and training if Iraq wanted.

In the same month, Britain handed over command of the main Iraqi army unit in Basra to Iraqis. However, plans to transfer security control of Basra to the 10th division by the spring have been amended.

"Spring had been suggested but we have shifted out of any sort of timetable and are saying when conditions are right," British military spokesman Major David Gell said.