ROME, Jan 19: Italy will withdraw its existing force from Iraq by the end of the year, Defense Minister Antonio Martino announced Thursday. “The military operation Antica Babilonia (Ancient Babylon) will end its mandate gradually over the course of the year 2006 and the mission will be considered over and accomplished at the end of the year,” Martino told the defense committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

He said however that Italian soldiers may be present on Iraqi soil after this year to protect a civilian mission.

“We are capable of assuming the responsibility and management of a possible reconstruction team in Dhi Qar province,” he added, referring to a commitment that he described as “mainly civilian, but which would not exclude a military presence, very different from the current one, to assure the safety of civilian staff.”

Martino told the Italian entertainment weekly Diva e Donna, published Wednesday, that Rome planned to halve its troop deployment by May.

Italy, a staunch ally of the United States under President George W. Bush, has some 3,000 soldiers in southern Iraq near Nasiriyah, despite the opposition of most of the Italian people, and their withdrawal has become a hot electoral campaign issue three months ahead of parliamentary elections.

The Italian force has come under attack several times, and in November 2003 17 soldiers and two civilians died in a suicide attack on its headquarters in Nasiriyah.

US DOWNPLAYS MOVE: The White House downplayed Italy’s plan to withdraw from Iraq, saying the move was conducted in consultation with the United States and calling it a sign of progress.