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.

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.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Russia had completed the withdrawal of its troops from Georgia almost a year early than the agreed deadline, despite Tbilisi's unfriendly foreign policy.

Russia says it withdrew its last troops based in Georgia Thursday, months ahead of schedule.

Donald Tusk, set to become Poland's prime minister this week, said on Tuesday the country's military contingent in Iraq should be brought home next year.

It was a day of diplomatic embarrassment for Japan today as it was forced to withdraw from the military coalition supporting operations in Afghanistan.

Britain's decision to halve its troop levels in Iraq by next spring won’t be opposed by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who said that the plan had been worked out jointly with U.S. commanders.

Poland will not decide whether to withdraw its troops from Iraq until U.S. presidential elections, Prime Minister said Tuesday. Last year, the Polish government extended its mission in Iraq until the end of 2007, but it has made no decision on whether to stay through next year.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday that Britain would cut its military contingent in Iraq. The reduction will start next spring. In addition, a British official said later that there may not be any British troops remaining in Iraq by the end of 2008.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today gave further details of Britain's plans, announced during his visit to Baghdad last week, to withdraw 1,000 British troops from Iraq by the end of the year.

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a resolution to require President Bush to give Congress a plan to withdraw troops from Iraq. The measure which had bipartisan support was the first of what Democrats say will be a series of bills this month relating to Iraq.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said 1,000 more British troops could leave Iraq by the end of the year. Speaking after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad today, Brown also said he believed the southern Al-Basrah Governorate could be handed over to full Iraqi control in the next two months.