UK minister: Basra is 'transformed city'

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Britain's defense secretary has declared that the once war-torn southern Iraqi city of Basra is now a "transformed city."

Des Browne, who made an unannounced visit to Basra on Thursday, comes two months after Iraq's government launched a recent offensive in the largely Shiite city against what they call criminal elements.

A British military news release said Browne "engaged with local residents" as he talk a stroll in a neighborhood. He saw "market stalls, craftsmen and shoppers" in what was a "previously hazardous area."

"As I walked through Basra's streets today, chatting to people, it was clear to everyone that Basra is a transformed city. I felt an enormous sense of pride in what the Iraqi forces have achieved with our help," Browne said, according to the news release.

"Mid-afternoon I sat in a Basra street cafe and had a cup of tea with General Mohammed Juwad Huwaidi, commander of the Iraqi forces in Basra. All around us were the signs of a city returning to normality -- shop keepers working away, women walking around wearing head scarves and children playing on their bikes."

Maj. Tom Holloway, the British military spokesman, told CNN on Friday that Browne discussed security plans with British commanders and met with local Iraqi military officials during the three-hour visit.

British troops had been based in Basra city since the Iraq war began in 2003. The country handed over security control to Iraqis late last year, but still maintains a presence in Basra province.

The defense ministry says there are 4,000 British troops in southern Iraq, and they are focused on training and mentoring and "carry out tasks in support of the coalition."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in late March launched the offensive targeting an outlaw element that had been holding sway in city neighborhoods.

Many observers believe the fighting reflected the country's intra-Shiite rivalries. Much of the fighting pitted Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia against the government security forces dominated by members of a rival Shiite group, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.

The offensive sparked fighting in other Shiite towns and in Baghdad's predominantly Sadr City, where troops fought Shiite militants until a cease-fire was recently forged.

Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military official in Iraq, mentioned the Basra offensive during testimony on Thursday at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He said the operation -- which was criticized for its hasty planning and initially seen by some observers as a government failure -- "did have a shaky start." The Senate hearing was over his nomination to head U.S. Central Command.

Petraeus said the operation has since had "enormous progress that has produced very positive tactical and strategic results."

"The tactical results are the return of control to legitimate security forces in Basra, something for which the .... people of that city and province are quite grateful and they're pleased about."

Browne said it was his ninth visit to Basra over the past two years.

"In that time there have been highs and there have been lows. I have seen progress and I have seen that progress stall.

"But never have I seen the Iraqi army operating with such confidence and enjoying such support from the local people. This would not have been possible without the hard work of the British military," he said.

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