35,000 soldiers to withdraw from Iraq – U.S. army

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Admiral Patrick Driscoll of the U.S. Army in Iraq on Wednesday said that the army’s command intends to withdraw 35,000 soldiers from the country during the coming stage, as Iraqi security forces have been improving in both abilities and size. “The number of personnel in Iraq’s ministries of defense and interior increased by 150,000 new servicemen in 2008,” Driscoll said in a press conference in Baghdad. “The Iraqi government has also been increasing its abilities to provide services to people, after the big security improvement throughout the country,” he added. “During the last quarter of this year and the last three months, armed attacks against security forces and civilian people have been reduced by 77 percent,” he explained. “Violent acts took place during recent days, especially in the cities of Baghdad and Mosul, but they were in lower levels compared with previous years,” he proceeded. “Using bombs and motorcycles in the attacks that have been taking place in the Iraqi capital is Al-Qaeda in Iraq’s (AQI) technique,” he noted. “Combined Iraqi-U.S. forces have been able to limit and reduce the attacks and their effects,” he asserted. Admiral Driscoll accused the AQI of killing 12 Iraqi Christians in Mosul (northern Iraq) a few days ago. “Premier Nouri al-Maliki ordered the deployment of two Iraqi police brigades in Ninewa, to impose security in the province, to protect Christian citizens, and to stop the displacement process that was practiced by AQI’s elements against them,” he said. “After losing Iraqi fighters, AQI now relies on Arab fighters who cross the border of Iraq to conduct barbaric attacks against security forces and civilians,” he added. The U.S. army in Iraq has 17 brigades that embrace 155,000 soldiers. MH (S)/SR 1