Italy plans to halve its military contingent in Iraq by June and end its mission there by the end of the year, Defence Minister Antonio Martino told parliament Thursday. "The military operation Ancient Babylon will be gradually completed during the course of 2006 and will be declared finished at the end of the year," Martino told a joint foreign and defence parliamentary commission according to Deutsche Presse Agentur (dpa). Italy has slowly been reducing its presence in Iraq - from 3,200 a year ago to today's 2,600. Martino said the contingent would be reduced to 1,300 over the next six months with the withdrawal of 300 soldiers in January and a further 1,000 by June. Italy's contingent, at one stage the third-largest after those of the United States and Britain, is based in the southern province of Dhi Qar. Italy, a staunch ally of the United States under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, did not take part in the war to oust Saddam Hussein but later sent peacekeeping troops to the region. A total of 19 Italians, including two civilians, died in November 2003 when a suicide bomber drove a truck full of explosives into its main base in Nasiriyah. The accident is considered Italy's worst military disaster since the end of World War II. Martino said Italy would be willing to continue playing an active role in Iraq in 2007 by taking part in a civilian "reconstruction team" in Dhi Qar. --SP 21 59 Local Time 18 59 GMT
