General Mohan al-Freiji, the Iraqi Army commander in Basra announced Wednesday that his forces are in “almost complete control” of the port city. General al-Freiji denied major participation in the ongoing anti-militia offensive by US and British contingents but admitted that they had supplied logistical assistance, aerial support and training for Iraqi troops.

He said foreign forces were not participating in the fighting, which began on March 25 when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Basra and personally took charge of operations to crush Shia militias challenging government rule, particularly the Mahdi Army loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. 

However, the British military has revealed that 150 of its troops are embedded with Iraqi forces while the US has deployed 1,000 special forces troops drawn from all over West Asia. The US special forces personnel have been launching raids with the aim of detaining senior Mahdi Army officers and leading supporters of al-Sadr.

Iraqi forces, largely made up of members of the Badr Corps militia belonging to the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), have also been bolstered by Badr Corps units not absorbed into the official armed forces and police.
 This means that the majority of the troops fighting the Mahdi Army are, essentially, US backed militiamen rather than members of a national army. The aim of al-Maliki and his SIIC ally is to defeat or weaken the Sadrists ahead of October elections.