British troops in Iraq start heading north

"The convoy has begun to leave Shaiba military base at the airport in Iraq's second city of Basra, said a British army spokesman.

About four convoys of tanks, towed on lorries, Land Rovers and other army vehicles were already on the road, flanked by British foot soldiers guarding the route, an AFP reporter said.

Helicopters were seen buzzing above the convoys as they rolled northwards in the direction of Nasiriyah, packed with soldiers.

Washington has asked top ally Britain to shift some of its 8,500-strong Iraq force closer to Baghdad as US troops focus on wresting the restive hub of Fallujah from rebel control -- possibly through an all-out military offensive.

Britain announced last week that it had agreed and would dispatch 850 soldiers for a limited time to restive Babil province.

The 850-strong force comprises 500-to-550 soldiers from a Black Watch battalion and specialists from other units, including experts in reconnaissance, engineering, logistics, and communications.

The redeployment came amid a storm of speculation about whether it was a purely military move or a political decision aimed at giving Prime Minister Tony Blair's war ally US President George W. Bush a timely boost for his re-election campaign.

Meanwhile AP from Tokyo said: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Wednesday he won't withdraw Japan's troops from Iraq despite a new video purportedly showing a Japanese man taken hostage by Islamic militants there.

"The Self-Defence Forces will not withdraw," Koizumi told reporters as he visited sites in western Japan devastated by a typhoon. "I cannot allow terrorism and cannot bow to terrorism."