Japan to withdraw troops from Iraq by year-end

By Xinhua,

Tokyo : Japan will pull out its Air Self Defence Force (ASDF) from Iraq by the end of the year, Defence Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Thursday.

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The decision was made as Iraq’s political and security situations have improved, said Hayashi, adding that the Iraqi government intends to reduce foreign military presence in the war-battered country.

At a separate press conference, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said that the ASDF has accomplished its assigned tasks in Iraq, which was adopted by the Diet in July 2003.

Under the Special Measures law, the ASDF has been on a mission to airlift materials in Iraq.