UK forces leave Basra in control of Americans

The handover came almost six years after British troops first captured the city during the 2003 war which toppled the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The transfer of power was carried out by Major-General Andy Salmon who will now be replaced as the most senior figure in Basra by his US counterpart, Major-General Michael Oates.

It will be followed by the steady withdrawal of the vast majority of the 4,000 British troops still deployed in Iraq.

After 31 May, only 400 British service personnel will remain in southern Iraq, either to train the Iraqi navy or to assist in headquarters functions.

In addition, units from 22 SAS are expected to continue to remain elsewhere in the country, conducting counter-insurgency operations. Announcing today's handover, Major-General Salmon said significant progress had been achieved in the city, where security has improved in recent months, and that the British mission had proved successful. "We've helped deliver security, we've set the conditions for social and economic development and I think we can leave with our heads held high," he said.

Although the British forces will now be replaced in Basra by US troops, officials say that the aim remains to leave security in the city principally in the hands of the Iraqi police and military.

US forces will concentrate on training their Iraqi counterparts and ensuring that supply routes open between the port city - which is key to the country's prosperity because of its rich oil reserves - and the rest of the country.

Today's start of the official withdrawal follows six years of mixed fortunes for British forces in Basra during Operation Telic. The city was first taken in April 2003 when residents poured onto the streets to greet the incoming troops and to celebrate the removal of Saddam Hussein, who had oppressed the city's Shia population.

Within days, however, the outbreak of looting, a wider breakdown of law and order, and slow progress in restoring power, water and fuel supplies raised tensions and a steady decline in relations meant that by 2006 British control had weakened amid a succession of clashes with Shia militants.

British casualties mounted amid criticism of UK tactics in Iraq by some within the US, but order was eventually restored last year after an operation by Iraqi forces wrested control of the city back from the militants.