Bulgaria's parliament has approved a plan to withdraw all Bulgarian troops from Iraq by the end of the year.
The decision in Sofia Thursday finalizes a March proposal by the government of Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to withdraw the 450-soldiers by December.
It also comes one month before voters, many opposed to the troop deployment, elect a new parliament.
Opposition Socialists, who have been ahead in opinion polls, oppose Bulgaria's continued involvement in Iraq.
Nine Bulgarian soldiers have been killed in the war-torn country, including one by U.S. troops in a friendly fire incident.
Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters.
