Iraq's Cabinet to Seek Final UN Extension for US-led Troops
By VOA News
04 December 2007
Iraq's Cabinet has agreed to ask the United Nations to extend authorization for U.S.-led forces in Iraq through the end of next year.
The current one-year mandate expires at the end of this month, December 2007, and Iraq's chief government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, says this will be the last time the government seeks such an extension.
At present, there are more than 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
In Washington, President Bush urged Congress Monday to pass a bill providing more funds for U.S. military operations in Iraq, without setting what he calls an arbitrary date to pull the troops out.
In other news, the kidnappers of five British citizens seized in May have released a broadcast message, aired by al-Arabiya, demanding that Britain withdraw its forces from Iraq.
Earlier, the U.S. military in Iraq expressed regret for a shooting incident Monday in Tarmiyah, during which American troops fired on a vehicle amid an operation to detain a suspected al-Qaida fighter. One civilian was killed, and three others were wounded.
In other news, an Iraqi humanitarian group says more than 25,000 Iraqi refugees who fled to Syria have returned to Iraq since mid-September.
The Iraqi Red Crescent says in a report released Tuesday refugees are returning because Iraq's security situation has improved.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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