Maliki told reporters after the meeting in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone that his troops were ready to assume command in the country's south. "We are prepared to take over security of Basra within two months and we will," he said, according to PA. "Basra will be one of the provinces where Iraqi forces will completely take over security." After his talks with al-Maliki, Brown went on to hold further meetings with the US commander in Iraq General David Petraeus and Iraqi deputy prime minister Barham Saleh, who is responsible for economic regeneration. Brown said that despite the troop withdrawal, the UK would continue to maintain the capability to intervene in support of Iraqi security forces if needed, PA said.
