120 More British Troops for Iraq: MoD
120 more British troops are set to be deployed in Iraq where they will be tasked with providing training to Iraqi forces, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said on July 15th.
The spokesman – whose identify has not been revealed - did not give any information concerning the scheduling of the new deployment.
Training Iraqi Forces
On the subject of British forces mentoring their Iraqi equivalents, he said: "These personnel bring specialist skills to the Military Transition Teams already working with the Iraqi Army in Basra and are vital to further developing the Iraqi Army's leadership ability."
The spokesman added: "British forces are doing an excellent job to train and develop them further so ultimately they can take full responsibility for their own security. Troop levels are kept under review, and decisions are made based on the advice of commanders and conditions on the ground."
The same figure referred to recent coverage given by one newspaper to the future scheduling of British military withdrawals from the country as “pure speculation.”
British Soldiers in Iraq
In all, around 4,000 British soldiers currently serve in Iraq, with the majority positioned close to Basra.
British Troops Back in Action
Despite the training role that they are now in, British troops were pulled back into action earlier in 2008, aiding allied forces fight the Mahdi Army.
Source – Armed Forces International’s Political Correspondent
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