BAGHDAD, March 8: The United States would reduce the number of troops in Iraq by around 12,000 in the next six months, the US military said on Sunday, a step in President Barack Obama’s plan to end combat operations in August 2010.

“Two brigade combat teams who were scheduled to redeploy in the next six months, along with enabling forces such as logistics, engineers and intelligence, will not be replaced,” the US military said in a statement.

Reducing the number of US combat brigades in Iraq from 14 to 12 would cut the number of American troops, currently around 140,000, by 12,000, said Major-General David Perkins, spokesman for the US forces in Iraq.

Six years after the US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, Mr Obama plans to pull all combat troops out of Iraq by Aug 31, 2010, leaving 35,000 to 50,000 support and training troops as Washington shifts its military focus to Afghanistan.

Last month, President Obama ordered 17,000 extra troops to Afghanistan as part of his plan to tackle the troublesome insurgency there and fulfil his campaign promises to wind down the unpopular war in Iraq.

Under a US-Iraqi security pact negotiated by former president George W. Bush that took effect on Jan 1, the United States must withdraw all its troops from Iraq by end-2011.

Maj-Gen Perkins told a news conference that 4,000 troops from Britain, Mr Bush’s chief ally in the 2003 invasion, would also leave Iraq in the coming months.

The sectarian and insurgent violence that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis and more than 4,500 foreign troops since 2003 has fallen off sharply.

Maj-Gen Perkins said violence was currently at its lowest level since around August 2003 and Iraq was in a “stable situation”.

Yet Iraq remains a dangerous place and insurgents still stage regular attacks in places like the northern city of Mosul, seen as a last urban stronghold for Al Qaeda.

General Ray Odierno, commander of US forces in Iraq, has advocated a cautious approach to removing troops from a country that many fear could tip back into rampant bloodshed.

Maj-Gen Perkins said the military would re-examine its allocation of troops as the overall force dwindled. “We will reposition assets through the country ... based on the threat level,” he said.

“We are by no means complacent. We know that Al Qaeda, although greatly reduced in capability and numbers, still is desperate to maintain relevance here in Iraq,” he said.

US forces across Iraq are increasingly focused on training local forces, whose ranks have swelled by hundreds of thousands since they were disbanded by US officials in 2003.

Persistent threats to Iraq’s stability include deep divisions over power and resources between Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and his political rivals.

Such rifts could worsen as Iraq gears up for national elections in December — especially the fault line between Maliki and minority Kurds, who want greater leverage for their semi-autonomous northern region.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has suggested the United States should be prepared to maintain a “modest” military presence to help Iraqi forces beyond 2011 if Iraq requests it.—Reuters
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