(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-10-02 19:32

"I believe that within the next two months we can move to provincial Iraqi control (of Basra), that is Iraqis taking responsibility of their own security," the prime minister said.

The visit, Brown's first to Iraq since taking over as prime minister from Tony Blair on June 27, comes one month after Britain pulled its force of 500 troops from Basra and handed over the southern city to Iraqi control.

On arriving in the Iraqi capital early Tuesday, Brown went immediately into talks with Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki and then Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi.

He said afterwards he had spoken to Maliki about political reconciliation and had told him Britain was looking for further efforts to be made by all parties in Iraq to come together.

The reconstruction of Iraq, he added, was "vital" and Britain was proposing a Basra investment and development agency to boost employment and increase security.

Brown later went into talks with top US general in Iraq David Petraeus, American ambassador Ryan Crocker and Britain's General Bill Rollo.

He said he would later fly to Basra to meet British troops.

The British military said on Tuesday that Britain expects to hand control of Basra over to Iraqi forces this autumn, hopefully by the end of November.

British military spokesman Major Mike Shearer said that the pullout of troops from their headquarters at Basra Palace one month ago meant Iraqi forces were already responsible for most of the security in the port city.

"We reduced our operational footprint to allow Iraqi forces to take an increasing lead in policing their own city but we have retained responsibility," Shearer said.

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