Over the last two months, the U.S. Army reduced its presence in Basra
from more than 500 to fewer than 200 soldiers. Officials said four patrol
bases have been relayed to the Iraq Army, with plans to close two additional
bases.
"I want to emphasize we are only in the remaining locations because
we've been asked to stay there, and are there to coordinate, conduct joint
command and control training, and provide enablers to the Iraqi security
forces," Kievenaar, head of the 2nd Brigade, told a briefing on July 14.
"All vehicle movements and training events are coordinated daily with the
Basra Operations Center, and our daytime vehicle movements inside the city
are supported with the Iraqi security force escorts."
On July 17, three U.S. soldiers were killed in what the military termed
"indirect fire" in Basra. The killing took place in wake of an assessment
that Basra had overcome Shi'ite insurgency activities that threatened either
Iraqi or U.S. forces.
Officials said the U.S. military has quietly continued operations in
other Iraqi cities in wake of the June 30 withdrawal deadline. They said
U.S. forces were conducting patrols and directing convoys in such cities as
Baghdad, Mosul and other cities.
"There's been a strong information campaign that has been done by the
Iraqi leaders, the Iraq security force leaders, the Iraqi provincial
leaders, explaining to the population exactly why we're there," Kievenaar
said. "The security situation in Basra right now I would say is very stable
and secure."
Officials said Basra remains threatened by Iranian-backed insurgents,
particularly the so-called Hizbullah Brigades. They said Al Qaida was
also believed to have established a presence in the city.
In Basra, the U.S. military has facilitated training, intelligence
operations as well as reconstruction efforts. Officials said the Iraqi
military would require such platforms as unmanned aerial vehicles to ensure
reconnaissance and patrol missions.
"They're going to need some measure of unmanned aerial vehicles to be
able to support their operations, as well as they're going to need some
basic Sigint [signals intelligence] and Humint [human intelligence]
capabilities," Kievenaar said.
