US to withdraw troops from Iraq
2008-05-06 13:44
Baghdad - The US military said on Tuesday it will shortly withdraw 3 500 soldiers who were deployed in Iraq as part of the controversial "surge" in February last year.
Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division will return to their base in Fort Benning in Georgia "in the next several weeks," the military said in a statement.
The return of the troops is in line with a US plan to complete a withdrawal of the 30 000 "surge" troops deployed since February last year to curb an increase in sectarian violence in Iraq.
- AFP