Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- A British spokesman said that his country will soon sign a comprehensive pact similar to the pullout and framework agreements earlier signed between Iraq and the United States, an official Iraqi newspaper reported Monday.

    "The British government is negotiating with its Iraqi counterpart to conclude an agreement similar to the U.S. and Iraqi one," John Wilkes, foreign office spokesman, told the state-run al-Sabah newspaper, adding "Baghdad and London will finalize the talks over the pact in the next few days."

    The agreement should be completed before the current United Nations mandate for troops expires by the end of this year, Wilkes said in an interview by telephone with the paper from his office in London.

    He said the pact will not need to be passed by the British parliament, because it would be between the Iraqi and British governments.

    He refused to say how many British troops will remain in the country and refrained from setting a final deadline for the withdrawal of his troops.

    "There would be a limited number of British troops to stay in southern Iraq as long as the Iraqi government deems it necessary," he said.

    The British troops mission would be training the Iraqi Army 14th Division stationed in Basra and the country's navy, he added.

    Britain has roughly 4,000 troops in Iraq, the vast majority of whom are based outside Iraq's second largest city of Basra, some 550 kilometers south of Baghdad.

    In July, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he wanted to cut the number of Britain's troops but ruled out a timetable for their withdrawal.

    Late last month, Iraq signed a key security agreement which will keep the U.S. military presence here for another three years.