Poland plans to withdraw several hundred of its 1,700 soldiers from Iraq in July, the defense minister said in an interview published Friday. "I can only say that we assume a reduction of the Polish contingent by several hundred troops," Szmajdzinski told the Rzeczpospolita daily when asked whether Poland would reduce its troop level with its next regular rotation, scheduled for July. The cutback will also involve handing over authority for Wasit province, now patrolled largely by Ukrainian soldiers, to Iraqis.
