Topic: Britain to send more troops to Iraq

Team Infidel

Media: AFP
Byline:n/a
Date: 6 Sept 2006

Body:


LONDON, Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) - Britain will deploy 360 more troops to southern
Iraq later this year, reinforcing its military presence there, The Guardian
reported on Wednesday.

Citing the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the newspaper reported that the
additional troops will include soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, the Royal
Regiment of Fusiliers, Royal Engineers, Royal Marines and Military Police.

The extra military police will help train Iraqi forces, while the engineers
are to help counter the threat from roadside bombs. A Royal Marine boat
troop will also be deployed on the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which borders
Iran.

The announcement came as Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett was on her first
trip to Baghdad. In a joint press conference with Beckett, Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani said British troops could leave Iraq by the end of next year.


On the eve of Beckett's visit, two British soldiers were killed on Monday
when a roadside bomb ripped open their lightly-armoured vehicle as it
escorted a reconstruction team north of the mainly-Shiite southern city of
Basra.

Pressure is now mounting in Britain on Prime Minister Tony Blair's
government to name a date for the final withdrawal of British forces, which
have already handed one province back into Iraqi control.

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