British Defence Secretary Des Browne said on Thursday in London that the number of British troops in Iraq would be reduced by a further 500 to 5,000 by the end of the year, according to dpa. The number of soldiers in Afghanistan would be increased by 100 in the same time period, Browne said. Former British prime minister Tony Blair had announced in the summer of 2006 a reduction of 1,600 in the then 7,100 troops in Iraq. Britain's forces in Iraq are stationed mainly in the south of the country and are gradually handing over their duties to their Iraqi counterparts. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has so far resisted giving a definite deadline for the complete withdrawal of British troops from Iraq. Blair had been harshly criticized for involving Britain in the US- led invasion of Iraq.
