UMM QASR, Iraq, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Around 100 British naval trainers arrived at southern Iraqi oil ports to help train the Iraqi military to defend their oil infrastructure in the Persian Gulf.
British forces ended their combat mission in Iraq in April. A deal with the Iraqi government reached in December, however, allows 100 British naval trainers to work with their Iraqi counterparts to teach them how to defend their shipping lanes, the Times of London reports.
Oil tankers dock at the al-Basra and Khawr al-Amaya oil terminals off the southern coast of Iraq throughout the day, bringing Baghdad more than $100 million per day in oil revenue.
Foreign troops are scheduled to hand over national security responsibility over to the Iraqi military by January 2012. British forces are working to rebuild a depleted personnel and naval units following the near-complete destruction of the Iraqi navy in the U.S.-led invasion.
Iraq entered its first new warship into service Tuesday. The British Ministry of Defense, meanwhile, announced it had dispatched its warship HMS Monmouth to the Persian Gulf to lead protection of Iraqi oil platforms.
