The White House says President George Bush has decided to withdraw about 8.000 U.S. troops from Iraq by next February and that he will announce the plan in a speech Tuesday in Washington.

President Saakashvili said Georgia was pulling out its troops from Iraq amid, what he called, an open military aggression by Russia in South Ossetia.

Presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama has sought to distance himself from his campaign statements on troop withdrawal from Iraq, apparently under pressure from Republican rival John McCain's repeated questioning of his stand.

The US military announced on Thursday that the withdrawal of another 4,000 troops from Iraq next month as violence across the country hit a four-year low.

The US army will pull out five brigades by the end of July following improvement of the security conditions and declining attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces.

Australia will press on with plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq in June this year, although promises were made by the nation's foreign minister that relations with the United States will not be affected by the move.

Around 5,000 American troops will head home later this month as part of a withdrawal plan announced by President George W Bush, US military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith says.

Poland’s new Prime Minister said Friday that the country would withdraw its troops from Iraq next year, but continue mission in Afghanistan.

A former top US commander in Iraq has thrown his support behind a war funding bill proposed by Democrats that calls for withdrawing most combat troops by the end of next year.

Iraqi forces are making good progress which could allow US troops to begin a partial withdrawal from Iraq earlier than planned, Iraqi National Security Advisor Muwaffaq al-Rubaie has said.

President Bush says pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq before the government there can take over its own security would embolden neighboring Iran. Iran's foreign minister says his country would step in to ensure regional stability, once foreign forces leave Iraq.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced during a visit to Iraq on Tuesday that 1,000 British troops could be home by Christmas as he aims to hand control of Basra province back to the Iraqis within two months.