Within an hour of Gordon Brown telling the Commons that he planned to cut troop numbers in Iraq to 2,500 by next spring, three rockets were fired at the British military base at Basra airport, forcing every serviceman and woman to hit the ground.

The three huge explosions, which did not cause any casualties or damage, were a reminder that rogue elements of the Shia militia are still intent on attacking British troops and clearly timed their rocket launch late yesterday afternoon to send a message to the Prime Minister.

Major-General Graham Binns, the British commander of the Multi-National Division (Southeast), based at the airport, was forced to take shelter under the table in his office when the rockets landed. He told The Timeshe thought it was likely that the attack and the Prime Minister’s speech in the Commons were linked. “There is very little that’s coincidence in this place,” he said.

General Binns, who discussed troop reductions with Mr Brown when he visited Basra last week, said that even with only 2,500 troops left it would be a “coherent military force which would have important and meaningful tasks to fulfil”. He said that once Basra was handed over to the Iraqis, British troops would be needed to “protect ourselves at the base, to protect our lines of communication” and to disrupt the flow of smuggled weaponry across the Iranian border.

General Binns said that a force of 2,500 troops represented a “small brigade”, and the plan was to maintain a “two-star” headquarters under the command of a major-general. He confirmed that 500 troops would be kept in the province.

General Binns would not predict how much lower the number troops could go. “It all depends on conditions on the ground and I couldn’t advise on that at this stage,” he said. But he said that “the omens are good”.

Soldiers seemed generally pleased that the operation in Iraq was going to be cut back, although none of them will be affected by the announcement. Those serving here now will have to complete their six-month tour of duty which ends in about eight weeks’ time, and the next rotation of troops based around the 4th Brigade will also go ahead, but with their numbers reduced from 5,500 to 4,500.

Major Mike Shearer, spokesman for the British in Basra, said: “Soldiers enjoy being out here, and a lot of them are now talking about going to Afghanistan. This announcement has been made possible because the Iraqi forces have been able to take on the mantle of responsibilities, and it is good military housekeeping to withdraw those who are surplus to requirements.”

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