SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (Spain), July 26: Spain and Bulgaria on Saturday waved off the first contingents of soldiers for duty in Iraq.

Fifty Spanish troops left the northwestern town of Galicia for Iraq on a Hercules transport plane, airport authorities said.

Initial reports from Spain had spoken of 455 troops, but because media were forbidden to attend the departure, there was confusing information as to how many troops left for Iraq.

The troops are an advance group of a total 1,300-strong Spanish contingent to serve in a multinational force in post-war Iraq.

The Spanish, who will operate under Polish control, will be deployed in the southern regions of Qadisiyah and Najaf.

They are to be joined by 1,1000 troops from central American states and are expected to serve for six months through to December 30.

Spain was a key ally of the United States and Britain in the Iraqi conflict but sending troops represents a political gamble by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, whose unwavering support for the US-British coalition has engendered much criticism at home.

Bulgaria: The first 30 of 500 Bulgarian soldiers due to help rebuild Iraq left for the Middle East on Saturday, the defencce ministry said.

The men flew out from the southern town of Plovdiv on board three Ilyushin 76 planes headed for Kuwait, where they are due to prepare for the mission in Iraq, the ministry said.

The unit that left on Saturday will set up a camp in Kuwait where the rest of the battalion will spend an acclimatisation period.

The Bulgarian soldiers will form part of a 9,200-strong multinational force under Polish command that is due to deploy in southern Iraq from Sept 1.—AFP