El Salvador calls up second contingent to go to Iraq

SAN SALVADOR (AFP) Dec 30, 2003
El Salvador is enlisting a second contingent of soldiers to deploy in February to Najaf, southern Iraq, to replace Salvadoran troops stationed there, Defense Minister Juan Antonio Martinez said Tuesday.

The new contingent will replace 359 Salvadoran military sent to Iraq in September to support US-led reconstruction efforts for six months. The first group is expected to return mid-March.

Whether more troops will be enlisted in the second group is still being assessed, Martinez said, noting that the maximum limit is 380.

The Salvadoran troops' base, outside the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Baghdad, came under mortar attack on December 10, without injuries or material damage.

As well as the Salvadoran troops, some 366 Honduran soldiers, and Spanish forces are also at the base.

Along with military personnel from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, those troops belong to the so-called Plus Ultra brigade under Polish and Spanish command.

WAR.WIRE