Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Iraqi PM: UK forces 'not needed'

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Iraqi PM: UK forces 'not needed': "Iraqi PM: UK forces 'not needed'
Al-Maliki criticised British troops for redeploying to the airport on the edge of Basra [AFP]

Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, has said that British troops are no longer needed to maintain security in the south of the country.

'We thank them for the role they have played, but I think that their stay is not necessary for maintaining security and control,' he told The Times, a London-based newspaper, in an interview published on Monday.

British forces were based in the southern city of Basra after the US-led invasion in 2003, but they handed over responsibility for the region's security to Iraqi forces last December.

About 4,100 British troops are still based at the airport outside Basra.

Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, was already expected to significantly cut the number of troops in the contingent over the next year.

'There might be a need for their experience in training and some technological issues, but as a fighting force, I don't think that is necessary,' al-Maliki said.

British soldiers helped to train the Iraqi army and navy, while a special forces unit based in Baghdad has been used to attack al-Qaeda fighters and other groups.

Basra violence

The Iraqi prime minister had some"