U.S. to withdraw more troops from Iraq in coming months

BAGHDAD, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. ambassador to Iraq Wednesday said that there would be a new decrease of U.S. troops in Iraq in the upcoming months.

In a press conference for some local media at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Ambassador Douglas Silliman said "the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq has been decreased, especially in Anbar province in coordination with the Iraqi forces," according to al-Sumaria News Agency.

"There will be a gradual reduction of these (U.S.) forces in the coming months without replacing them with others," Silliman told reporters.

Previously, the troops were tasked to provide support of artillery fire in addition to training and advising to the Iraqi forces, but the U.S. forces are now only focusing on training the Iraqi forces on how to preserve the liberated areas, as well as providing humanitarian assistance to the displaced people until they return to their homes, according to Silliman.

Over 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces during the battles against Islamic State (IS) militants.

The troops were part of the U.S.-led international coalition that has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in both Iraq and Syria. Enditem