Italy to cut its Iraq forces in January

[cal04]

Italy will reduce its troop force in Iraq by 10 percent in January as part of its phased withdrawal from the country, Defence Minister Antonio Martino said on Thursday. Martino told reporters Italy would cut its military contingent to 2,600 soldiers by the end of January from 2,900.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said last month that all the troops would be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2006 in coordination with the Iraqi government.

Italy, which has the fourth-largest foreign contingent in Iraq, faces a general election next April where the unpopular Iraq war might become an issue. Most Italians and all opposition parties were opposed to the troop deployment.
The Italian government started withdrawing its forces in September, pulling an initial 300 soldiers from Iraq.


http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=6320663&cKey=1134646520000