British troops begin Iraq pullout

BASRA. April 1. KAZINFORM. British forces officially began withdrawing from Iraq yesterday, signaling the end of six years of military operations that began with the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

The flag of the British headquarters in Basra was lowered at a solemn ceremony that marked the start of a months-long process that will see all 4,100 British troops out of the violence-wracked country by the end of July. ?Our nations are bonded by the blood we have shed together. That is a bond that no man can break,? said Gen. Ray Odierno, the senior US Army officer in Iraq, shortly before a US Army flag was raised and the colors of the Royal Marines lowered. ?You have restored hope where chaos reigned,? he said before an audience of about 300 invited guests at Basra airport, including top US, British and Iraqi officers and diplomats from all three countries; Kazinform cites The Arab News. The ceremony was also a recognition of the 179 British soldiers, airmen and sailors who have died in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion. Britain?s chief of defense staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup paid tribute ?to those who made the ultimate sacrifice? in what he described as ?a noble endeavor.? Meanwhile, a suicide truck bomber plowed through a sandbag barrier to strike a police station in the northern city of Mosul yesterday, killing at least eight people and wounding 12, US and Iraqi officials said. It was yet another sign that security forces have still not managed to stamp out extremists in Mosul, only three months before US troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi cities. The bomber broke through the first checkpoint on the station?s perimeter, which was made of sandbags, then detonated his explosives when he reached the concrete wall a few meters away from the building.