Bulgaria to pull troops from Iraq at end of year

Bulgaria has 155 servicemen at a camp near Baghdad, where they handle the security of some detainees held there.

Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said Thursday after a Cabinet meeting that "the presence of the Bulgarian military contingent on a humanitarian mission in Iraq ends on Dec. 31."

Stanishev had pledged to withdraw Bulgarian troops from Iraq as part of his election campaign in 2005.

"Our mission in Iraq has been especially difficult," Stanishev said.

Thirteen Bulgarian soldiers and six civilians have died in Iraq since 2003. Bulgaria also has troops in international military missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Bosnia.