August 12, 2007 (LPAC)--Senior British Army officers are warning the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown that any delay in troop withdrawals from Iraq could risk greater casualties for British troops.

Rocket and mortar attacks on British troops in the Basra area have increased significantly in recent months, and officers now believe that a planned concentration of troops at the Basra International Airport could provoke more intense attacks. In the past two months alone, there have been more than 300 rocket and mortar attacks on a British base at the Basra Airport, and a second one at the Basra Palace. This is more than the total number of attacks on British outposts over the last four years combined.

According to the London Times, some senior commanders fear that Gordon Brown may have acquiesced to a request from George W. Bush, to delay any withdrawal decision until September, when Gen. David Petraeus will be reporting to the U.S. Congress on progress in Iraq. But British officers warn that there has been a clear increase in attacks. "The longer we sit and wait, I fear the more soldiers will die," one officer said. "We need to be given a clear mission or get out."