UK to withdraw troops from Iraq by "thousands" next year
LONDON, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- British Defense Secretary Des Browne said on Monday that British troops in Iraq would be "significantly lower by thousands" at the end of next year.
Addressing at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a leading think tank in UK, Browne said, "by the end of next year, I expect numbers of British forces in Iraq to be significantly lower by a matter of thousands." Full Story
Annan: Iraq almost in civil war
UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday that Iraq was "almost" in a state of civil war before his scheduled teleconference with U.S. government's Iraq Study Group.
When asked by a reporter in the UN headquarters whether Iraq was in a civil war right now, Annan said "given the developments on the ground, unless something is done drastically and urgently to arrest the deteriorating situation, we could be there." Full Story
White House denies Iraq conflict a civil war
WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The White House denied on Monday the saying by NBC, a major television network in the United States, that Iraq has fallen into a civil war.
The situation in Iraq is serious, but neither U.S. President George W. Bush nor Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki believe Iraq conflict is a civil war, National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. Full Story
Prodi: last troops back from Iraq next week
ROME, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Italian Premier Romano Prodi said on Monday that the withdrawal of the Italian peacekeeping contingent from Iraq would be completed by Dec. 2.
Italy, which did not take part in the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, sent a contingent afterwards to help reconstruction, perform peacekeeping duties and contribute to the training of Iraqi security forces. Full Story
Violence rages in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi capital city of Baghdad on Saturday remained under curfew for the second day, as gunmen raided two Shiite homes and killed 21 men in Diyala province.
In spite of the curfew, gunfire crackled throughout the day and an Interior Ministry official told Xinhua that mortar rounds shelled Baghdad's several neighborhoods, including Sadr City, a Shiite militia bastion where more than 200 people were killed on Thursday in the deadliest bombing attacks since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Full story
