The top U.S. Commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, talks to Iraqi police and army commanders during a patrol with the Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment in Muqdadiyah, in the Diyala province July 26, 2008. Sunni Islamist al Qaeda has sought to stoke tensions in Iraq's ethnically and religiously mixed northern cities, such as Diyala and Mosul, after military campaigns pushed its militants out of former strongholds in western Anbar province and Baghdad.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Top U.S. commander in Iraq David Petraeus has submitted a draft plan to set the pace of withdrawing troops from Iraq, raising the expectations of more troop cuts this fall.

    The Washington Post's web site quoted military sources as saying Saturday that the plan were submitted to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

    It said Petraeus is expected to submit a final set of recommendations within the next week after analyzing the impact of troop cuts of five U.S. brigades in mid-July.

    The report is expected to conclude that the outlook in Iraq has improved to merit more troop cuts but the final decision will be made by President George W. Bush sometime in September.

    There are expectations that Petraeus may suggest cutting one to two combat brigades, or roughly, 3,500 to 7,000 troops this fall.

    At the present, there are 15 U.S. combat brigades or some 146,000 troops in Iraq.

The top U.S. Commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus (L), shakes hands with a soldier from the Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment as he gives him a coin in a base near Muqdadiyah, in the Diyala province July 26, 2008. Sunni Islamist al Qaeda has sought to stoke tensions in Iraq's ethnically and religiously mixed northern cities, such as Diyala and Mosul, after military campaigns pushed its militants out of former strongholds in western Anbar province and Baghdad.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>