Iraqis take Basra command as UK plans troop cuts

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) Britain put Iraqis in command of the main Iraqi army unit in Basra today, a move billed as paving the way for Washington's main ally to formally announce major cutbacks in troops.

''The Iraqi Army division based in Basra has transferred from under coalition command, and is now -- for the first time -- taking its orders direct from an Iraqi headquarters in Baghdad,'' the British military said in a statement.

''The transfer is a significant step towards Iraqi forces taking responsibility for security in the city.'' Britain has not yet formally announced cutbacks to its force in Iraq, but Defence Secretary Des Browne has said he hopes to bring thousands of troops home by the end of this year.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Sunday that Britain would draw down its force in Iraq once Iraqis were responsible for security in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city.

He has said he will update parliament about the British mission in Iraq at the close of a four-month security operation in Basra -- Operation Sinbad -- which ended last week.

''It is absolutely true, as we've said for months, that as the Iraqis are more capable down in Basra of taking control of their own security, we will scale down,'' Blair said in an interview on Sunday.

''The operation that we've been conducting in Basra is now complete. And that operation has specifically been to put the Iraqi forces in the main frontline control of security within the city. And it's actually been successful as an operation.'' British defence officials have spoken of drawing their force down from 7,100 to about 4,700 over the next six months.

Since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, British troops have been responsible for Iraq's southern-most four provinces, which are mainly Shi'ite and have been quieter than mixed or mainly Sunni areas patrolled by Americans.

But a British decision to draw down its forces could prove diplomatically sensitive at a time when US President George W Bush is sending thousands more American troops on a ''surge'' to fight sectarian violence in Baghdad.

The British handed over security responsibility for two of their four provinces to Iraqis last year and abandoned their main base in a third.

Its force is now concentrated in Basra itself and at a nearby air base. Commanders say they hope to withdraw from the city and keep a reserve force on standby at the base.

Reuters AB VP0007