Seoul set to dispatch last replacement of troops to Iraq

SEOUL, Sept 22 (Yonhap) -- A group of South Korean forces are set to leave for Iraq later this week in what is expected to be the last replacement of troops before the country pulls out its Iraqi contingent at the end of the year, officials said Monday.

Some 250 troops will depart Thursday for the northern Iraqi city of Irbil where
the country's Zaytun unit has been helping rehabilitate the war-torn nation since
2004, they said.
"The replacement forces consist of some 250 servicemembers who are specially
trained in various skills that can help maintain security in their area of
responsibility while also carrying out various civilian assistance operations,"
an Army official told reporters.
The South Korean unit began its deployment with some 3,600 troops, but the troop
level has now been reduced to some 520, according to the official.
A one-year extension of the troop deployment expires at the end of this year, and
the government has said it has no plans to renew the extension.
"The troops will be pulled out as scheduled," Won Tae-jae, a spokesman for the
Defense Ministry, said last week.
Zaytun unit's pullout is also expected to end the presence of South Korea's air
support unit in Kuwait, according to ministry officials.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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