BASRA, Iraq — Britain yesterday formally handed control of Basra to the Iraqi government in a move that will pave the way for a dramatic reduction in the number of British troops stationed in Iraq next year.

In a ceremony conducted in the disused departure lounge of Basra airport, the commander of British forces in Iraq, Major-General Graham Binns, signed a memorandum of understanding that gives local Iraqi leaders responsibility for running the province.

There was a brief moment of confusion when the head of southern Iraq’s security forces, General Mohan al-Furaiji, insisted that he sign the agreement as well as Basra’s provincial governor, Muhammad Waili. Previously it had been agreed that only Mr. Waili would sign the memorandum.

But after a short delay it was agreed that both men sign the document that formally brings to an end Britain’s responsibility for administering the four Iraqi provinces placed under its control following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003.

Basra has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting between British forces and Iraqi militant groups, but yesterday’s hour-long ceremony passed without incident.

General Binns said the city had been pulled from the grip of its enemies. “I now formally hand it back to its friends,” he said. “We will continue to help train Basra security forces. But we are guests in your country, and we will act accordingly.”

The British foreign secretary, David Miliband, who was at the ceremony, said Britain remained committed to helping the Iraqis with political and economic reconstruction efforts: “Our aim is to see an Iraq run by Iraqis for all Iraqis,” he said. But he acknowledged that Britain was not handing “a land of milk and honey” to the Iraqis.

“This remains a violent society whose tensions need to addressed, but they need to be addressed by Iraqi political leaders, and it is politics that is going to have to come to the fore in the months and years ahead,” he said. Iraq’s national security adviser, Mowafaq al-Rubaie, said his country was ready to take on the burden of governing Basra province independently.

“The security improvements didn’t come from nothing, but were the result of huge efforts from both the government and Iraqi people in fighting terrorism, extremism, militias, and outlaws,” he said.

An indication of the continuing threat of violence came the previous night when insurgents fired 13 mortar rounds at the air base on the city outskirts that is now the headquarters for British forces.

A few hours later, several Iraqi insurgents were reported killed by an American airstrike as they prepared to launch another attack.

But Mr, Miliband said he was hopeful that local Iraqi political leaders were more interested in pursuing political dialogue than fighting each other.

Mr. Waili said he extended the “hand of friendship” to all the militias in the city, and called on them to lay down their arms.

Mr. Miliband said the future of Iraq needed to be sorted out by the Iraqis, not the military.

“This is an opportunity for them to do something positive, and I hope they will take it,” he said.

[The Associated Press reported that the second-ranking American general, Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, said violence in Iraq is at its lowest levels since the first year of the American invasion, finally opening a window for reconciliation among rival sects.

The AP also reported that Turkey said dozens of its warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel targets as deep as 60 miles inside northern Iraq for three hours yesterday in the largest aerial attack in years against the outlawed separatist group. An Iraqi official said the planes attacked several villages, killing one woman, and the rebels said two civilians and five rebels were killed.]