British troops could begin leaving Iraq by January end

Basra: British combat troops will start withdrawing from Iraq shortly after local elections held at the end of January, the commander in Basra has signalled.

Planning is well advanced for Operation Drayton, the withdrawal of the 4,000 soldiers in the Basra area.

The withdrawal will accelerate if the security situation remains stable following the provincial elections on January 31.

Asked if the countdown had begun towards what Gordon Brown called "fundamental mission change" - withdrawal - Major General Andy Salmon, the British divisional commander, said that the "clock is ticking nicely".

If the Iraqi 14th Division, which control Basra, managed the elections well, "then we will be in a position after that to say that we are pretty much there," he said.

"If we adapt to Iraqi needs then we will avoid outstaying our welcome. Then we will arrive at a mutually agreed position as to when we have met our conditions."

Plans have been drawn up for the British force to be at 30 days notice to move when the signal comes from London at a date likely to be beneficial to the Government. The first battalions are likely to leave Iraq by as early as March, military sources have disclosed.

Geoff Morrell, a Pentagon spokesman, said the United States hoped that reducing British troop numbers in Iraq would allow the Afghanistan force to be strengthened.

"Clearly we would welcome more British troops but we are not singling out the Brits more than anyone else. "We are sending thousands and thousands more troops and we are always looking to see who can contribute more to the mission in Afghanistan," he said.

The British withdrawal from Iraq will come almost exactly six years after the first troops crossed over from Kuwait in 2003.

Since then 176 service personnel have lost their lives and up to pounds 10 billion has been spent on the operation and new equipment.

Soldiers fought in the toughest street battles since the Second World War. They provided a vital breathing space in which they were able to train the Iraqi army that helped to defeat the insurgents in March following a power vacuum after the British withdrew from the city to the airport five miles away.