Baghdad: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Tuesday he believed British troop levels in Iraq could drop to 4,500 by the end of the year.
"I believe that by the end of the year British troops can be reduced to 4,500," Brown said during his first visit to Baghdad as prime minister.
"That releases 1,000 of our troops and hopefully they will be home by Christmas," he said, adding that Iraqi troops could assume control of Basra within two months.
Brown's trip comes before a key speech on Iraq to Britain's parliament next week, where he may announce plans to cut the number of British troops in Basra to 3,000.
"He's going to want to discuss the developing security situation in Basra and the prospect for Iraqis taking full responsibility, and the timescale for that," a British official said,
About 500 British soldiers withdrew from a palace in the city of Basra to a vast airbase on its outskirts in early September.
Brown first went to a meeting with Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki. He is also expected to meet key officials, including Vice President Tareq Al Hashemi and Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih.
Economic development will be a big theme in Brown's visit to Iraq and the prime minister will want an update on the process of political reconciliation, the British official said.
Feuding between Iraq's political camps has hamstrung the government and delayed progress on key reforms Washington wants.
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