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Iraqi Vice President: US pull-out on schedule

Iraqi Vice President Khudair al-Khuzaie says in line with a bilateral security accord, the US forces deployed in the country will be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of this year.

Khuzaie made the remarks following a meeting with Washington’s ambassador to Baghdad James Jeffrey on Wednesday.

According to a statement released by Khuzaie’s office, Jeffrey has said that his government is committed to the 2011 pull out deadline and that all American troops will leave Iraq by 31 December in line with a security pact agreed between Baghdad and Washington in 2008.

Washington officially ended combat operations in Iraq last August and according to US officials, the current role of the US army is to advise and help Iraqi security forces.

But despite claims by the United States of no longer being engaged in combat actions in Iraq, there have been numerous reports of involvement of the US troops in military operations in the war torn country.

However, many US officials have visited Iraq recently to pressure Iraqi leaders into agreeing with having US troops stay in the country beyond the 2011 deadline.

The US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who visited Iraq in August, disclosed that American forces had resumed military operations in Iraq nearly one year after the US military announced an official end to combat operations in the country.

There are currently about 50,000 US soldiers bases in Iraq.

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