BAGHDAD, July 28 (UPI) -- British forces once stationed in Iraq moved to neighboring Kuwait due to the failure of the Iraqi Parliament to provide legal cover for their deployment.
British forces had operated out of a base in the southern port city of Basra in support of Operation Telic, their coordinated section of the U.S.-led effort in Iraq.
Baghdad and London moved on a sweeping bilateral security agreement at the end of May that includes specifics outlining the training of Iraqi forces.
The Iraqi Parliament, however, has failed to ratify the agreement, leaving British forces without the legal cover needed to continue their mission in Iraq.
Iraqi lawmakers said they wouldn't reconsider the motion until September. If the measure fails then, that will mark the end of Britain's involvement in Iraq, The Times of London reports.
British Defense Secretary Bob Ainsworth said the remaining British trainers would remain in Kuwait until they had the permission to return to duty in Iraq but added the removal to Kuwait was a national embarrassment for Britain.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the end to British combat operations in Iraq on April 30. The 903 Expeditionary Air Wing of Britain's Royal Air Force had a flag-lowering ceremony to mark the end of its six-year operation in Iraq on May 18.
Britain at the height of its military engagement in Iraq had around 45,000 troops there, though their numbers now total around 275.
