Defense minister, British envoy take up military training

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi minister of defense on Sunday discussed with the British ambassador to Baghdad the training of the Iraqi army after the withdrawal of foreign combat troops from the country. “Today, Minister Abdulqadir Mohammed Jassem received in his Baghdad-based office the British ambassador to the country…,” according to a statement published on the official Web site of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. The two officials agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to regulate the movement of British training personnel in the country. Under a security agreement signed between Iraq and Britain, 4,100 troops are scheduled to withdraw from the country within the coming three months. A total of 179 British soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Britain, the United State’s prime ally in the invasion, had one base- the Basra International Airport, 25 km northeast of the province – after handing over the former presidential palaces, which they took as a military base, to the Iraqi forces. Basra lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P)/SR 1