British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today he expects Iraqi authorities to take control of Basra province within two months and the number of British troops there to drop by the end of the year.
"I believe that by the end of the year British troops can be reduced to 4,500," Mr Brown said during a visit to Baghdad. "That releases 1,000 of our troops and hopefully they will be home by Christmas."
Mr Brown 's first trip as prime minister to Iraq comes before he makes a key statement on Iraq to parliament next week.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in the heavily-fortified Green Zone in Baghdad today
Britain had 5,500 troops in Basra before 500 British soldiers withdrew from a palace in the city of Basra to a vast airbase on its outskirts early
last month. The total number has since fallen to about 5,250.
The withdrawal from Basra palace ended the British presence in the southern city, where troops had been stationed since the US-led invasion in 2003.
"I believe that within the next two months we can move to provincial Iraqi control, that is Iraqis taking responsibility for their own security," Mr Brown said.
That would complete the transfer of power in all four southern provinces for which Britain was once responsible.
Basra has enormous strategic importance as the hub for Iraq's vital oil exports that account for 90 per cent of its revenue and a centre of imports and exports throughout the Gulf.
The decision by Tony Blair to join the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was deeply unpopular in Britain and the Labour Party.
Since taking over in June, Mr Brown has sought to draw a line under Mr Blair's rule, and there has been growing speculation he wants to pull more troops from Iraq - perhaps as a precursor to calling an election.