Brits hand operation center over to Iraqis

British military forces handed over control of a $2.3 million joint military operations command center in Basra to their Iraqi counterparts.

A joint provincial operations center was established at the Shatt al-Arab hotel, which houses the main operations center in Basra.

British military forces are deployed in Basra as part of Operation Telic in support of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. There are around 4,000 British troops stationed there, down from 18,000 in 2003.

Control over the command center was attended by top Iraqi, British and U.S. military commanders. Iraqi Maj. Gen. Mohammed Jowad Hameidi said the relative calm in the vital port city was important to the national reconstruction effort.

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