PRAGUE, May 31 (Xinhuanet) -- The Czech military police contingent serving in Iraq can go home at the beginning of next year, ending its role in the US-led coalition forces that ousted former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Czech Defense Minister Miroslav Kostela said Monday in Iraq.

    The Defense Ministry will submit the withdrawal proposal as soon as possible to the parliament, which will finally decide whether to extend the contingent's mandate that expires Dec. 31, Kostela was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency CTK.

    The minister, who was visiting the Czech police in southern Iraq near Basra, said the Czech Republic will instead shift its focus to missions in Afghanistan and the Balkans.

    Last April, the republic, which backed the US-led war against Iraq, sent a 300-strong field medical team to the country. The team was replaced early this year by a 90-member military police contingent which is now responsible for training local police. Enditem