Browne says Iraq situation "improving"
Des Browne and Nouri al-Maliki are likely to discuss the withdrawal of British troops
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Monday, 28, Aug 2006 07:55
The defence secretary, Des Browne, today held talks with the Iraqi prime minister in Baghdad, claiming that despite continued unrest, the situation in the troubled country is improving.
Mr Browne and Nouri al-Maliki are discussing the continued dismantling of British forces stationed in the country's south, with the ultimate aim for Iraq's own army to assume security responsibilities.
The process of handing over control of the southern regions to the Iraqi army began last month, but Britain still has 7,000 troops stationed in and around the oil-rich city of Basra.
The Ministry of Defence last month explained that the number of UK soldiers in the Dhi Qar and Muthanna provinces could be halved within the next 12 months.
After talks with Mr al-Maliki, the defence secretary said: "I recognise there are continuing challenges and I've seen some violence over this weekend which suggests there's much more work to be done.
"But as prime minister al-Maliki said in an interview this weekend, things are improving and the challenge is to maintain that improvement."
Mr Browne's visit also addressed ongoing sectarian concerns throughout Iraq, with commentators not ruling out the prospect of the country becoming embroiled in a civil war.
Fourteen people died in Baghdad today when a suicide car bomber targeted the Iraqi interior ministry.
The attack upon the government building comes only a day after about 50 Iraqis died in a series of sectarian attacks across the country, which have become an almost daily occurrence.
But after today speaking to his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul-Qader Mohammed Jassim al-Mifarji, the defence secretary said: "Each time I come, I see more progress."
More than 100 British troops have been killed in action in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled by the US-led invasion in 2003.