Rumsfeld says US now has 150,000 troops in Iraq

TIKRIT, Dec 24 (AFP) - US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday the Pentagon had now boosted the number of US troops in Iraq to 150,000 ahead of the war-torn country's January 30 national elections.
"We've already done it," Rumsfeld told troops, in response to a soldier's question during a visit with the 1st Infantry Division in Tikrit.
Last month, the Pentagon announced it was boosting troop numbers from 138,000 to 150,000 soldiers in the largest military deployment for Iraq since the US-led invasion in March 2003.
The increase in numbers came as the Pentagon looked to counter insurgents seeking to derail the January elections, the first free polls in Iraq in five decades, that will choose a national parliament.
Rumsfeld flew into Iraq at dawn on a Christmas Eve visit to boost troop morale and toured Mosul, Tikrit and Fallujah.

12/24/2004 12:21 GMT - AFP