The British military operation in Iraq is coming to a close today, 8 years after the United States-led invasion which led to the fall of Saddam Hussain. The Royal Navy Training mission is being withdrawn marking the end of its deployment which is at its peak involved 46,000 men and women. 179 British personnel lost their lives in Iraq. A report says the British forces went into Iraq as part of the US-led coalition in 2003. Now as Royal Navy finishes its training mission for the Iraqi Navy and Marines in Southern Iraq, the operation code named “op telic” is finally at an end. After British soldiers finished combat operation in 2009, the Royal Navy continued training of almost 2000 Iraqi personnel to build up a navy capable of defending Iraq's territorial waters and its oil platforms.