Final British forces leave Iraq

The last British forces left Iraq on Sunday after eight years.

Marines from the Royal Navy stayed on after the end of combat operations to help train Iraqi soldiers. The last British combat troops left their southern base of Basra in April 2009.

Under former prime minister Tony Blair, Britain joined the US in the operation to remove Saddam Hussein in April 2003. A total of 179 British service personnel died during the campaign and an estimated 100,000 Iraqi civilians.

Meanwhile, ex-foreign secretary David Milliband has criticised the allies’ post-Saddam strategy. He told British television on Sunday that they failed to “develop a proper strategy for peace” after the Iraqi dictator’s removal.

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