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Monday, November 26, 2007       Free Headline Alerts

5,000 U.S. troops to leave Iraq in December

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military have concluded Iraq is secure enough to warrant a troop withdrawal within weeks.

Officials said Saturday the sharp and sustained decline in insurgency attacks justified a reduction in U.S. forces in Iraq. In the first move, they said, 5,000 soldiers would leave Iraq in December 2007.

"The redeployment without replacement reflects overall improved security within Iraq," U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith said.

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On Saturday, Smith told a news conference that a U.S. combat brigade would leave Iraq over the next few weeks, Middle East Newsline reported. The U.S. Army's 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division has been deployed in the Diyala province.

Officials said the military would withdraw 20,000 soldiers by July 2008. About 162,000 U.S. soldiers have been reported deployed in Iraq.

"If conditions continue to permit, a total of five brigade combat teams will be redeployed over the next eight months," Smith said.

The withdrawal of the 3rd Brigade would prompt a redeployment throughout central and northern Iraq. Officials said U.S. units would be moved to Diyala, regarded as stronghold of Al Qaida.

Commanders said that the U.S.-led coalition has significantly reduced violence in Diyala. They said Al Qaida has been severely limited in its operations as tens of thousands of Sunnis have joined police and auxiliary units.

In Diyala, about 3,000 Iraqis have joined the auxiliary police, termed "Concerned Local Citizens." Officials reported a 68 percent drop in killings, kidnapping and suicide attacks in Diyala since April 2007.

Instead, Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias have emerged as a significant threat in Iraq. The military reported that four members of an Iranian-backed Shi'ite cell confessed to bombing a public market in central Baghdad on Nov. 23.

"Based on subsequent confessions, forensics and other intelligence, the bombing was the work of an Iranian-backed special groups cell operating here in Baghdad," Smith said.



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