Britain ends combat operations in Iraq

TheBritish militaryformally endedcombat operations in Iraq onThursday after six years of conflictby handing over controlofitsmain base in Basrato an American brigade.

Troops stood at attention at the baseas the colours of the British army's 20th Armoured Brigade were lowered at a formal ceremony to mark the end of the combat mission.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brownsaid the day marks the "closing chapter" forBritain's missioninIraq.

"Today Iraq is a success story,"Brown said after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in London. "Britain can be proud of our legacy that we leave there."

Healso paid tribute tothe soldierswho gave their livesduring the mission.

"They will always be remembered for the service they have given. Our country owes them a huge debt of gratitude," Brown said.

Earlier in the day,British DefenceMinister John Hutton joined soldiers in Basra for a ceremony to honour the 179 Britishmilitary personnelwho died during the war.

Also read during the ceremony were the names of soldiers from othercountries the United States, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlandsand Romania who were killed inOperation Telec, the code name forBritain's operation in Iraq.

The Britishmilitarybegan handing over military command in Basra to U.S. forceslast month.The pullout of mostBritishcombat troopsis scheduled to be completed by May.

Followingyearsof sectarian violence following the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, British forces in the southern oil port were forced to withdraw from the city in 2007 to the main base at the city's airport, whilea 60,000 Shia militia known as the Mahdi Army seized control.

The Mahdi Army, run by radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr,was removed from Basra in a U.S.-backed Iraqi military operation ordered by al-Maliki a year ago.