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US says number of troops in Iraq below 50,000
“US military force levels in Iraq are below 50,000. US military forces will transition to Operation New Dawn, effective Sept. 1, 2010,” the US military said in a statement.
“US Forces-Iraq will continue to advise, train and assist the Iraqi Security Forces ... until the end of our mission in December 2011.”
More than 4,400 US soldiers have been killed since the 2003 US-led invasion, launched by former US President George W. Bush, that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Up to 106,071 Iraqi civilians also died in fierce warfare unleashed between majority Shiites and the minority Sunni Muslims who dominated the country under Saddam.
President Barack Obama promised US voters that he would cut troops to 50,000 by Aug. 31 before a total withdrawal by the end of 2011. Most US military units began switching their focus to training and assisting Iraqi troops and police when they pulled out of Iraqi towns and cities on June 30, 2009.
US forces have not been legally able to conduct unilateral operations in Iraq since a bilateral security agreement came into force in January 2009, and the US military began a steady cut in troop numbers, from a peak of 176,000 soldiers.
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