Iraqi Forces Move Into Shia Stronghold

Iraqi government forces entered a Shia militant stronghold in the southern city of Basra today, which has been rocked by fierce internecine clashes in recent weeks.

The move against the Mahdi army, the militia supporting the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, comes a day after the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, returned to Baghdad after spending a week in Basra overseeing a crackdown against Shia militants.

As the convoy of army and police forces, led by Lieutenant-General Mohan al-Fireji, entered the Hayaniyah area of the city, the troops began shooting into the air in a show of force.

The offensive comes after plans for significant cuts in the number of British troops in Iraq were formally put on hold.

Des Browne, the UK defence secretary, told the Commons yesterday that the number of UK forces would stay at 4,100 for the foreseeable future.

Gordon Brown told MPs last autumn he hoped the number could be cut to about 2,500 by late spring. The reductions envisaged then "might not be possible", Browne said. The decision, he added, was taken as a result of military advice.

Browne's announcement was a direct response to the fierce street fighting last week between Iraqi forces and the Mahdi army.

"What is happening in Basra is a manifestation of our policy to give Iraqis control of their own security," Browne told MPs. "That road will not always be smooth. It will require political and economic progress and reconciliation, as well as military action."

British forces supplied air cover and surveillance to the crackdown by Iraqi government forces last week, as well as providing supplies and medical equipment.