US House votes for Iraq troop withdrawal

A sharply divided US House of Representatives passed legislation ordering President George Bush to begin withdrawing US troops from Iraq by October 1.

The 218-208 vote last night came as the top US commander in Iraq told politicians the country remained gripped by violence but was showing some signs of improvement.

Passage puts the bill on track to clear Congress by the end of the week and arrive on the president’s desk in coming days as the first binding congressional challenge to Bush’s handling of the conflict now in its fifth year.