( CNN ) -- Britain was withdrawing its troops Sunday from Iraq , ending a role that began with the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein , British defense officials said . The announcement that Britain was withdrawing its 170 troops came days earlier by Liam Fox , the defense secretary , who said the troops had completed their mission to train Iraqi naval forces . `` We now look forward to a strong , long-term defense relationship with Iraq , '' Fox told the House of Commons when he announced Wednesday that British troops would leave the country . The announcement effectively ended Britain 's role in Iraq , a role that was widely unpopular in the United Kingdom . About 179 British troops were killed during operations in Iraq . Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Britain when the war began , protesting the deployment of British troops to join then-President George Bush 's `` Coalition of the Willing . '' At the height of the war , more than 46,000 British troops were deployed primarily in and around the southern port city of Basra . In 2009 , Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordered an inquiry into the UK 's participation in the war . Former Prime Minister Tony Blair testified during the inquiry that Iraq needed to be confronted over its ambitions to develop weapons of mass destruction . Britain ended its combat operations in Iraq in 2009 but maintained a small contingent , primarily members of the Royal Navy , to train Iraqi sailors and marines at the southern Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr . The remaining 150 or so military personnel were temporarily withdrawn in July 2009 after the Iraqi parliament failed to pass an agreement for their continued presence . Britain will leave behind a small contingent to protect its personnel at its embassy in Baghdad . Additionally , Fox said a small number of British troops will continue in a NATO training mission in Iraq . CNN 's Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report .
Britain withdrawing its 170 troops from the country . Britain 's defense secretary says the troops completed their task of training the Iraqi navy . - The United States announces that it will send a team to Iraq in early April to help train and equip Iraq's military forces.