BASRA - Iraqi soldiers have raised their flag above a British base in the southern city of Basra as they prepare to take responsibility for security in the area, the military said on Monday.
Elements of the 10th Division of the Iraqi Army have joined their British colleagues from the Staffordshire Regiment in the Shatt al-Arab Hotel, a town centre stronghold which comes under frequent militia mortar attack.
In the coming weeks and months British troops are to pull out of two bases inside Basra and a logistics centre outside the city, in order to concentrate their force at a single compound at Basra airport.
British troops will also continue to protect the consulate located in central Basra.
The 7,200-strong force is to be reduced by at least 1,500 by the end of August and could be cut by up to half by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the locally-recruited 10th division will fill the gaps.
"The first elements of the Iraqi Army's 10th Diviiosn moved in the middle of least week. There is an Iraqi flag flying over the Shatt al-Arab hotel," British army spokesman Major David Gell said.
"This is another important step for the Iraqi army as they develop their capabilities and gradually take more responsibility for their own security.
"It is pleasing that the move went so smoothly and offers encouraging signs for the future as everybody continues down the road towards Iraqi self reliance," he added.
Basra is Iraq's second city and the hub of the country's oil industry.
The British force's four-year-old mission to pacify the city has been hampered by armed clashes between rival tribes and political Shiite militias, the brutality and corruption of the local police and insurgent attacks.
At least 132 British soldiers have died since the March 2003 invasion led by US and British forces and their bases still come under almost daily mortar or rocket attack.
03/12/2007 13:14 GMT