Poland plans to transfer control of Karbala province to other forces as part of a broader reduction of its military presence in Iraq, Defence Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski announced in a newspaper interview published 3 September 2004.
Poland leads a multinational contingent of 6,500 troops across a sector of south-central Iraq, with more than 2,500 Polish soldiers among them. After ceding Karbala, the remaining Polish force will be concentrated in the provinces of Babil, Wasit, and Al-Qadisiyah. Warsaw had already handed Najaf province, where Polish forces were involved in recent clashes with Shiite militias, to American control the month before.
Szmajdzinski said Poland would also turn over its command headquarters in Babylon to Iraqi authorities, with the command post likely shifting to Al-Qadisiyah. Warsaw hosted a two-day planning conference drawing military representatives from the 11 nations in the Polish-led sector alongside United States officials.
A further reduction in troop numbers is anticipated following Iraq's elections in January, though the minister said the size of any follow-on contingent would depend on security conditions and the pace of Iraqi force development. The government faces sustained domestic pressure to scale back the deployment amid broad public opposition to Poland's role in Iraq.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in September 2004, in its own words.