In another instance of under reported progress in Iraq, British forces handed over the Shatt-el-Arab hotel back to Iraqi forces this weekend. The Brits were using the 1937 hotel as a base for forces since the start of the war back in 2003.
Voices of Iraq reported:
British forces handed over on Sunday its base at the Shatt-el-Arab hotel, in northern Basra, to the Iraqi army, the Multi-National Forces in southern Iraq said.
“Iraqi army 10th Division troops have started to arrive at the Shatt-el-Arab hotel to receive the security responsibility for the base,” the Multi-National Forces in southern Iraq said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The statement added, “Iraqi soldiers have taken their positions at the hotel since Sunday morning and the Iraqi flag was hoisted over the building.”
The transfer of responsibility to the Iraqi army will release British forces to provide military assistance, support and training missions, the statement added.
Shatt-el-Arab is located 10 km north of the southern Iraqi city of Basra. It has been used as a British base since Coalition forces entered Basra in 2003.
Shatt-el-Arab hotel was built in 1937.
Hat Tip Haider Ajina
