Iraq will need British military support for 'some time'

Iraqi authorities will continue to need British military support in the south of the country “for some time to come”, the UK's Deputy Prime Minister said today.

But Barham Salih said the Iraqi government acknowledged it could not rely on outsiders for its security forever. The recently-announced withdrawals which will bring UK presence near Basra down to 2,500 next year was in large part due to confidence that local forces were ready to take on security responsibilities, he said.