spaper said the pull-out was planned to begin in March if provincial elections in January pass off peacefully.
Other newspapers also reported that the withdrawal would start in March, six years after the US-led invasion of Iraq.
From a peak of 46,000 soldiers in 2003 when Britain joined the invasion, just 4,000 remain in Iraq and the majority are currently confined to Basra air base in the south of the country.
The Guardian said that instead of handing over to the Iraqi authorities, the troops will be replaced by several thousand US soldiers.
Up to 400 troops are likely to remain to help train the Iraqi forces, while equipment such as helicopters will be transferred to Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ruled out a timetable for a withdrawal but has indicated he wanted to reduce the number of troops in Iraq.
Visiting Iraq in July, he told troops they were bringing Britain's work in the country to its conclusion.
The Ministry of Defence did not deny the withdrawal reports.
A spokeswoman reiterated that ministers have spoken of a "fundamental change of mission" in 2009.
"Significant progress has been made in Basra, a city which has now been transformed thanks to Iraqi, coalition and British efforts. As such, we are now expecting to see a fundamental change of mission in early 2009," she said.
Iraq's national security adviser, Muwafaq al-Rubaie, told AFP last month that negotiations between London and Baghdad on Britain's pullout had begun a fortnight earlier, and said troops would leave by the end of 2009.
"By the end of next year there will be no British troops in Iraq," he said.
However, any decision will likely depend on the situation on the ground, and in particular the peaceful passage of the provincial elections at the end of January -- the first vote in the country since 2005.
Since the invasion, 177 British troops have died in Iraq.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Reports: British troops out of Iraq by June
Reports: British troops out of Iraq by June
(NSI News Source Info) LONDON – December 10, 2008: Britain could start withdrawing troops from Iraq in March and most will have left by June, according to reports Wednesday which were not denied by the Ministry of Defence.
Citing a senior defence source, the BBC and the Guardian newspaper said the pull-out was planned to begin in March if provincial elections in January pass off peacefully.
Other newspapers also reported that the withdrawal would start in March, six years after the US-led invasion of Iraq.
From a peak of 46,000 soldiers in 2003 when Britain joined the invasion, just 4,000 remain in Iraq and the majority are currently confined to Basra air base in the south of the country.
The Guardian said that instead of handing over to the Iraqi authorities, the troops will be replaced by several thousand US soldiers.
Up to 400 troops are likely to remain to help train the Iraqi forces, while equipment such as helicopters will be transferred to Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ruled out a timetable for a withdrawal but has indicated he wanted to reduce the number of troops in Iraq.
Visiting Iraq in July, he told troops they were bringing Britain's work in the country to its conclusion.
The Ministry of Defence did not deny the withdrawal reports.
A spokeswoman reiterated that ministers have spoken of a "fundamental change of mission" in 2009.
"Significant progress has been made in Basra, a city which has now been transformed thanks to Iraqi, coalition and British efforts. As such, we are now expecting to see a fundamental change of mission in early 2009," she said.
Iraq's national security adviser, Muwafaq al-Rubaie, told AFP last month that negotiations between London and Baghdad on Britain's pullout had begun a fortnight earlier, and said troops would leave by the end of 2009.
"By the end of next year there will be no British troops in Iraq," he said.
However, any decision will likely depend on the situation on the ground, and in particular the peaceful passage of the provincial elections at the end of January -- the first vote in the country since 2005.
Since the invasion, 177 British troops have died in Iraq.
spaper said the pull-out was planned to begin in March if provincial elections in January pass off peacefully.
Other newspapers also reported that the withdrawal would start in March, six years after the US-led invasion of Iraq.
From a peak of 46,000 soldiers in 2003 when Britain joined the invasion, just 4,000 remain in Iraq and the majority are currently confined to Basra air base in the south of the country.
The Guardian said that instead of handing over to the Iraqi authorities, the troops will be replaced by several thousand US soldiers.
Up to 400 troops are likely to remain to help train the Iraqi forces, while equipment such as helicopters will be transferred to Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ruled out a timetable for a withdrawal but has indicated he wanted to reduce the number of troops in Iraq.
Visiting Iraq in July, he told troops they were bringing Britain's work in the country to its conclusion.
The Ministry of Defence did not deny the withdrawal reports.
A spokeswoman reiterated that ministers have spoken of a "fundamental change of mission" in 2009.
"Significant progress has been made in Basra, a city which has now been transformed thanks to Iraqi, coalition and British efforts. As such, we are now expecting to see a fundamental change of mission in early 2009," she said.
Iraq's national security adviser, Muwafaq al-Rubaie, told AFP last month that negotiations between London and Baghdad on Britain's pullout had begun a fortnight earlier, and said troops would leave by the end of 2009.
"By the end of next year there will be no British troops in Iraq," he said.
However, any decision will likely depend on the situation on the ground, and in particular the peaceful passage of the provincial elections at the end of January -- the first vote in the country since 2005.
Since the invasion, 177 British troops have died in Iraq.
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