US military says 3,500 troops set to leave Iraq

[David]

AP


BAGHDAD - The U.S. military says 3,500 soldiers sent to Iraq last summer as part of the so-called surge will soon be leaving.

A military statement released late Monday says the soldiers will redeploy to the U.S. in the coming weeks.

The increase in troops — along with the rise of Sunni fighters who turned against al-Qaida and a truce called by Shiite militias — has been credited with helping dramatically cut violence across Iraq in the last 10 months.

All of the troops sent in as part of the surge were expected to leave Iraq by this July, but U.S. commanders are asking for a "pause" in redeployments so they can assess the security situation as soldiers leave.