Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraqi security forces will be ready to take over security duties in the tumultuous southern city of Basra when British forces hand them over at the beginning of September.
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Al-Maliki told a visiting delegation from the defense committee of Britain's House of Commons Tuesday that Iraqi forces "have already begun to take principle responsibility for the security mission, with the British forces playing the role of support when needed," according to a statement from the prime minister's office. He reassured them of the "readiness of the Iraqi forces to receive security duties in Basra at the beginning of September." |