Iraqi police, military coordinate aid

BASRA, Iraq, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Iraqi army units worked alongside their police counterparts to deliver medical supplies from a military base in Basra to Basra Hospital, British forces said.

The Royal Air Force Police and members of U.S. forces supervised a shipment of more than two tons of medical supplies from a military base in Basra, the British Ministry of Defense reported.

"This is a great example of the Iraqi security forces, both army and police, working together to provide operational effect," said RAF Police Commander David Wilkinson.

U.S. military forces had planned the initial operations in 2008 but handed the operation over to Iraqi forces in November as British forces restructured their military presence in Iraq.

British forces in support of Operation Telic reached an agreement with the Iraqi government to maintain a military presence in Iraq following the Dec. 31 expiration of a U.N. mandate for multinational forces in Iraq.

RAF police along with the 21st Military Police Company of the United States coordinated the training of Iraqi police units in Basra, where British forces are stationed.