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Facebook LONDON (AP)  British forces could hand over responsibility for the southern Iraqi city of Basra as early as next month, a British newspaper reported Sunday. Iraqi forces could take control of the country's second-largest city as soon as October, the Sunday Times said, citing unnamed government sources, amid speculation that Britain will soon announce a major pullout. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has consistently refused to set a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from the country, but said a decision could be announced when Parliament returns from its summer break in October. The troops are based around the city of Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad. Their number has been cut from 7,000 since the start of this year and is due to fall by a further 500 in the next few weeks when Britain pulls its soldiers out of its last downtown base at Basra Palace, moving all its forces to the airport on the city's outskirts. Following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Britain controlled security across southern Iraq, but has since handed over three of four provinces to Iraqi forces. Britain's Ministry of Defense has previously said it hopes to hand security responsibility for Basra, the last remaining province, over to Iraqi forces sometime this autumn. No decision as to the precise timing of the hand over has been made, the ministry said in a statement. "When we — the Coalition and the Iraqis — determine the time is right to hand over security responsibility in Basra, a competent Iraqi security force will replace us," the ministry said. Even after the formal hand over, British troops could still remain in Basra, the ministry said, adding that any decision as to the number of soldiers remaining in area would be coordinated with the U.S. and Iraqi governments. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.
The Sunday Times cites unnamed U.K. government sources saying that Britain's troops could leave Basra  as early as October. This alleged scenario would allow Gordon Brown to announce a troop withdrawal in a statement at the time MPs return to Parliament.

The speculations have sparked criticism from U.S. military commentators this weekend. General Jack Keane said the withdrawal had "much more to do with conditions in the U.K." than with the situation in Iraq. Frederick Kagan, of the American Enterprise Institute, said the expected withdrawal "highlights the growing divergence between the British and American approach."

Just yesterday, former General Sir Mike Jackson called Donald Rumsfeld's approach to the U.S. presence in Iraq "intellectually bankrupt".

An official statement from the British Ministry of Defence said that decisions about the number of troops in the Southern Iraqi province would take into account the position of the Iraqi and U.S. government. The Ministry said that even after "a competent Iraqi security force" will have replaced them, some troops could still remain in Basra. Until now, Gordon Brown has consistently refused to set a time table for a pull-back.