British Security Company prepares for ring of steel operation in Basra

that had besieged Basra in 2003, while noting that the company intends to impose " ring of steel " operation to prevent attacks by suicide bombers in addition to training and intelligence.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper said in a issue about security developments in Basra, under the title " Basra invites British back for security role , briefed by "Shafaq News", that "the last six years that followed the withdrawal of British troops from southern Iraq have witnessed a continuation of a state of instability including bombings and mortar attacks operations, "indicating that " finally , it has been decided to return the British company to help in establishing security in Basra. "

Anxious to rid itself of the lawlessness that still plagues Iraq’s southern capital, Basra’s governor has hired a private military company run by a British general who helped capture the city from Saddam Hussein.

"The governor of Basra has signed a contract with a British company for security services to take the security role in the province, which suffers from many security problems ," noting that “Aegis company will help in security operations run by Gen. Graham Binns, who was commander of the 17th Corps of the British armored that imposed a siege on Basra in 2003.

The newspaper explained , " Binns was the same supervisor on the military process of handing over security duties in the province to the Iraqis after 4 years in conjunction with a new wave of violence in the country ," noting that " Aegis company will assist in security operations in Basra, at the comprehensive structural level and will supply the authorities with surveillance camera systems , operating systems , technical support in addition to the systems to shape and determine the concentration of checkpoints sites and method of work in the province. "

Aegis will also set up an academy to help security forces improve coordination and intelligence-gathering techniques.

The contract is politically sensitive as it will put British military experts in an influential position in Basra, advising the governor’s top-level security committee. Although most Basrawis insist that the British are now welcome once more, the city still harbours remnants of the Shia militias who forced the British into a hurried departure.

Maj Gen Binns, 56, who joined Aegis after retiring from the Army in 2010, said that he was “honoured” to return to the city to help.

Bloodshed in Iraq has escalated anew, with a campaign of car bombing by a resurgent al-Qaeda pushing the monthly toll of violent deaths up to around 1,000.

There has been concern about the ability of Iraqi security forces to meet the challenge. Earlier this week, al-Qaeda fighters temporarily forced the Iraqi army to withdraw from the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, west of Baghdad.

While Basra has largely been spared the violence further north, al-Qaeda continues to carry out sporadic car bombings there.

The huge amount of money generated by Iraq’s only port and principal oil city also makes it a haven for criminal gangs, smugglers and kidnappers.

Aegis, which is based in London, was founded by Tim Spicer, a former Scots Guard who also founded Sandline International, a private military company.

Aegis has had a presence in both Iraq and Afghanistan for most of the past decade, and has won multi-million-dollar contracts to protect US personnel.

Maj Gen Binns stressed that the new role in Basra would involve “consultancy” rather than “boots on the ground”.

It is worth mentioning that a group of people have beaten last November, a Briton working in one of the American oil companies in Basra on the background of what has been said offending the "Husseini rituals", which led to the suspension of the company's business and a crisis in terms of oil production, and led Basra province to think of alternatives to address the situation, according to observers.