During a low-key ceremony Sunday, Britain formally handed over control of security responsibility for Basra province to Iraqi authorities, marking a significant step toward Iraqi sovereignty."This day is a big day in the history of Basra and the history of Iraq," Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie told a group of at least 100 dignitaries and other guests gathered in the arrival lounge at the Basra airport. "It is a huge test for the Basraris to be in charge ... to determine their own fate and to rebuild the city."
Hours later, al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, appeared in a video posted on the Web that warned of "traitors" among insurgents in Iraq and called on Iraqi Sunni Arab tribes to purge those who help the Americans.
Basra is the last of four southern provinces under British control to be returned to the Iraqis. Britain is expected to draw down its remaining 4,500 troops to about 2,500 by spring, and all have pulled back from central Basra city. They will enter the city, Iraq's second-largest, only when a crisis occurs that exceeds the capacity of the Iraqi security forces, British officials said.
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