British forces could begin pulling out of Iraq's Maysan province in the next three or four months, official sources said.
Senior British commander in Alamarah in Iraq, Lt Col Andrew Williams, told Washington Times in an interview on Tuesday. London is yet to confirm this report.
The security situation in Maysan was 'serious' but local forces are on track to take over security this year, Williams told the daily at his headquarters in Camp Abu Naji, which is home to over 1,000 soldiers with Britain's Coldstream Guards and Royal Hussars regiments.
Two soldiers from this camp have died in insurgent attacks in the last seven weeks, the most recent being 21-year-old Lance Corporal Alan Brackenbury on May 31.
A huge number of British soldiers have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.