Ukraine orders troop pull-out from Iraq

Anna Melnichuk, Kiev

Ukraine, whose 1,650 troops are the fourth-largest contingent in the US-led military operation in Iraq, previously expressed intentions to withdraw this year, but the order apparently speeds up the timetable.

Sunday’s fatal blast in Iraq was reported as an accident, but acting land forces commander Lieutenant General Volodymyr Mozharovsky said yesterday investigators were looking into the possibility that it was an attack.