Via Multi-National Force -Iraq: Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that Basra will be handed back to Iraqi control within two weeks. The above photo shows Iraqi soldiers unfurling a national flag from a roof at Basra Palace. Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, who heads the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), said he is confident the country's security forces will be able to maintain order in the mainly Shiite province of Basra.
